


Avengers Family Two

by A_Unique_Username



Series: Avengers Family [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Irondad, Spidermom - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:28:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 37,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22060084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Unique_Username/pseuds/A_Unique_Username
Summary: 2: The Avengers celebrate Christmas with Steve.3: Peter struggles with an eating disorder.4: More of Peter’s baby monitor footage leaks.5: Peter struggles with depression.6: Clint gets insecure about his deafness7: The Avengers help take care of Peter when he's sick8: The Avengers see security footage from Peter's school.9: Field trip trope - quarantine edition.10: Peter Parker can sing.11: Natasha struggles with anorexia.12: Just a Note13: Tony Stark deals with quarantine.14: Tony needs blood.15: Skip Westcott.16: Continuation of chapter 9 w/ an identity reveal for Peter.17: ???18: ???19: ???20: ???21: ???22: ???
Series: Avengers Family [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1587766
Comments: 99
Kudos: 211





	1. Introduction

Hello, Marvel Fandom! 

This is sort of a sequel, but it’s just a collection of random one shots, so there is no need to read anything beforehand. If you enjoy this one, check out my other works: 

I do take prompts, but I refuse to glorify r*pe or mental illnesses or abusive relationships or incest or any of that jazz. I try to put warnings before anything with potentially harmful content, but I’m not perfect and these are certainly not beta read. Feel free to let me know if you see anything that should be fixed in the comments!

I have the same stories under the account @A_Unique_Username_ on Wattpad so if you prefer that platform, head on over!

Thank you all for the support and happy reading!!


	2. Christmas!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve gets excited for Christmas so everyone decides to pitch in and make it great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years guys! I didn’t actually mean to start this work without a fic attached to it, but I guess drunk me had different plans. So it’s a bit later than it should’ve been, but I hope you like it!

“Woah, look at those reindeer! They move!” Steve excitedly pointed toward the display in the store’s window. 

“I can’t believe they’ve had those up since October.” Clint scoffed. “My kids begged me to decorate for the holidays and we were only just getting supplies for Halloween.” 

“It’s crazy. You must be shocked at how commercialized the holiday has gotten Steve.” Tony glanced around at all the lights and ornaments, the general unhappy expression never leaving his face. He liked Christmas, but department stores were not his forte. He wouldn’t be anywhere near the mall if he hadn’t agreed to help with the damages caused by the latest round of villains. 

“It’s not-“ Steve’s response was cut off by the creaking of metal debris, alerting the heroes of a nearby pile in need of removal. 

By the time the three men finished up, it was late evening. “I’m just going to use the suit to fly back to get some work done, but I can call a car for you two.” 

“I’m good. Laura is going to pick me up so we can run some errands before getting home.” 

“Steve?”

“No thanks. I’m good. I’ve also got some stuff to do.” 

Tony shrugged. “See you back at the tower.” 

The men waved goodbye and parted in different directions. Steve went off into the mall and picked up as many Christmas items as he could. He had shopping bags filled with decorations, gift-wrapping supplies, and cookie making ingredients when he returned to his room. While he wasn’t anywhere close to as wealthy as Tony, SHEILD paid him well, and Tony covered rent and food, so he had plenty of extra cash to burn.

“Wow. Someone really went to town with the Christmas shopping.” Bruce whistled as he passed Steve on his way down to the lab. Steve just smiled. 

—————

“Look at all that fresh snow! Let’s go outside and make snowmen!” Peter excitedly yelled from his position by the window. 

“It’s way below freezing and it’s windy outside.” Sam looked warily outside. “Barring an emergency of apocalyptic proportions, I am not going outside today.” 

“No way kid.” Tony clutched his warm mug of coffee tighter. Bruce shook his head as well. 

“I’ll join you!” Steve enthusiastically volunteered. The others looked skeptically at his cheer. Natasha raised an eyebrow. 

Peter bounded over to the coat rack to grab his things, pulling Steve in the direction of the door. The super solider good-naturedly let himself be pulled into the freezing cold. His metabolism would keep him from freezing, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t feel it. 

For hours, anytime anyone glanced out the window, they would see Steve and Peter playing in the snow. Steve and Peter laughing as they constructed snowmen. Steve and Peter laying in the snow, making snow angels as they told each other stories. Steve and Peter building a ramp and then using Steve’s sled to do tricks on it. 

“Steve must really like the winter.” The Avengers had only moved in together earlier this year, so they hadn’t been around Steve in the winter very much until recently. They just assumed his personality was such that he really enjoyed the season. 

—————

“Yeah, so if you just crawl around or whatever it is you usually do on your missions, we can test the clarity of the feedback.” Tony tossed a new version of a transmitter to Clint. 

“‘Crawl around’? Is that really what you think I do? I’m a recognizance specialist. An expert in the field.” 

“And to test it out you will be?” 

“Strategically moving on my arms and legs in the air circulation system.” 

“Crawling around in the air vents?” Tony rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, pretty much.” Clint reached for the metal grates and shimmed in. “How’s the visual?”

“Crystal clear. I must say, this is some of my best.” The pride in Tony’s voice was evident. “Don’t break it.” 

“No trust. Jeez I won’t.” Clint whined. “Approaching the captain’s room now. Shall we take a peek?”

“I usually don’t condone spying-“ Clint snorted at Tony’s words and began to open the shaft to Steve’s room. “Shut up - I’m usually a good person. I’m just bored so I’m making an exception. Let’s see if the programming picks him up as superhuman.” 

Before the room even came into view, a notification appeared on Tony’s screen. ‘Two enhanced beings detected’.

“It’s showing two Legolas, be on the lookout for Barnes in there.” 

“Woah, did Christmas throw up in here?” Clint popped his head out from near the ceiling. He couldn’t see the super soliders from his position but he could hear them. 

“And these ones look like icicles, they can just wrap around like this and they light up!” Steve’s voice rang clearly through the audio transmitter.

“I like the candy cane ones better I think.” Barnes’ response was picked up just as easily. “It’s amazing how many decorations they have nowadays. I think this is the second year I’ll have a tree.” 

“It’s the first time for me.” Steve sighed, sounding mesmerized. 

“You punk. Why haven’t you had one in the past three years?”

“I just didn’t feel too festive. The holidays made me feel...”

“Homesick.” Bucky finished solemnly. “Welp, let’s go all out this year then! You’re actually well enough to go outside this time!” He laughed. 

“I could go outside before.” The pout was evident in Steve’s indignant voice.

“Sure, if your Christmas plans included dying of pneumonia.” Bucky’s sarcastic tone was quickly replaced with curiosity. “Show me what this one is supposed to do.” 

Clint moved silently back into the duct. “Did you happen to catch that too?” He whispered, backtracking toward the lab. 

“Loud and clear.”

“Natasha?!”

“She snuck in at the hurling Christmas comment. What was I going to do?” Tony stated nonchalantly. “I did hear the...other stuff too...” 

“It makes sense though. He was sickly, poor, and had no family before the war. Then there was war. Then he was thrown alone into our world. When would he celebrate Christmas?” Natasha spoke thoughtfully. 

Clint finally dropped back into the room with Natasha and Tony, landing with a small thud.

“Well then.” Tony slammed his fist against the table. “We will just have to have the best Christmas ever. It’s only December 10th, and I know just who can help us out.” 

In the middle of the night, with the dexterity only a group of highly trained superheroes could pull off, the entire tower was decorated. There had been a few tasteful reminders of Christmas and a medium tree before, but with the help of Peter and Thor, all ninety three floors were completely decked out. 

Everyone crowded behind the monitor in Tony’s room as they waited for Steve to emerge from his room. At 5am on the dot, the door opened and Steve narrowly avoided a snowflake that was hanging a bit low from the hallway ceiling. His expression morphed from battle-mode to confusion to pure delight. He quickly looked around him, taking in all the other decorations. 

Then he knocked at the door next to his. Without waiting, he let himself in. In moments, a drowsy looking Bucky was also in view of the camera. He perked up at the Winter Wonderland in front of him and a huge smile broke across his face. 

The individuals watching the screen couldn’t help but grin as Steve and Bucky explored the tower with childlike wonder. Despite their genetically fighting-tailored physiques, it was easy to imagine they were young boys with the genuine wonder displayed on their faces. 

The holiday season was filled with every activity the tower’s inhabitants could come up with. Peter, Steve, and Bucky did everything along with whatever Avengers were available at the time. They made gingerbread houses, went ice skating, wore ugly Christmas sweaters and festive pajamas, and watched so many movies. Tony threw a giant party for everyone he could think of, and Bruce arranged a smallSecret Santa for the close friends. In true Steve fashion, they also attended mass and did charity work at orphanages and homeless shelters. 

Since being unfrozen, Bucky had taken a liking to photography, and his pictures documented the whole Christmas. From Peter covered in frosting to Thor with red ribbons braided in his hair to Steve in a fuzzy grinch sweater - the Christmas season was unforgettable. 

When the day finally came, everyone was up early to participate in Secret Santa. They all pitched in to make a giant brunch so Tony wouldn’t hire any catering staff on Christmas Day. As they sat on the couch, surronded by wrapping paper but full and happily sipping hot cocoa, Steve spoke up.

“Thank you guys, for everything. This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had.” 

Tony pretended to act cool, but he was clearly a bit emotional at the statement. He tried to play it off as something he would’ve done anyway, but the way he glanced at Peter and Steve told a completely different story. 

Peter leaned over and spoke quietly so just Steve and Bucky could hear him. “It’s just what family does on Christmas.” 

“Okay boys, but to warn you, these are traditions now, you’re stuck doing all this festive stuff every year with us.” Natasha winked. 

“There’s nothing I’d rather do they spend the holidays making traditions with you guys.” Steve replied.

“Sap.” Bucky snorted, but his eyes were red. 

“To found family.” Sam, who was already a bit tipsy, rose his glass. “I’m so glad I decided to adopt all of your broken asses and look forward to spending another year with all of you, even Barnes.” 

“To family.” Everyone else rose their mugs and clinked them together. They were home. 


	3. Guilt and Control (Peter Centric)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by rebelfornoreason:
> 
> “Can you do a hungry peter? Like he somehow decides that because food isnt cheap he should eat less of it to help may out and just decides to starve? This time maybe some sort of self-harm behaviour . He messes up during a mission or something and feels like he need to be punished.”

“Kid, get to the west end and start knocking out drones.” Tony suddenly ordered through the comms as Peter narrowly avoided a hit from the HYDRA agent in front of him. 

Peter’s eyebrows narrowed.  The drones? They had been useless for the entire flight. Since the start, Tony and Bruce has determined that they were collecting data and appeared to be unweaponized.  Is Mr. Stark just sending me away because he thinks I’ll get hurt here? 

“Ironman, I can handle these agents.” 

“Kid, you need to follow my instructions now. They’re about to -“ 

There was a deafening crack and a thin blue line sliced through the air. When it came in contact with a nearby skyscraper, the top of the building came completely detached. In slow motion, twenty stories of steel and glass plummeted down into the streets of New York. A swarm of drones began looting the newly opened space. Immediately, all the Avengers moved their efforts toward destroying the drones - two more buildings still fell. 

The second and third had been in the middle of the battle - a mandatory evacuation zone. The only casualty was property. The first had also been evacuated of its usual occupants, but because of its location away from direct action, it was being used by police and fire safety as a base. All the men and women had been on the first floor, so there were no deaths, but many were injured- some terribly. 

Peter was glued to the spot as he watched medics carry their own out on stretchers. The team had done everything to keep innocent people from getting hurt - they evacuated a huge area and contained the fighting - but they hadn’t been able to help the brave men and women protecting the city with them from harm. Most of the officers and firefighters insisted that they were fine, that everything was alright. They were prepared for dangerous situations and the whole team had first aid training to reduce the likelihood of anything permanent. That didn’t curb Peter’s guilt.

He’d been a petulant teenager, stubbornly ignoring orders solely because he thought he’d been being treated as a child. He’d risked the lives of good people because of his attitude. Why couldn’t he have just listened to Mr. Stark? Of course the genius superhero would know best. How could he have been so stupid? 

Peter clutched his stomach, overcome with nausea. He made his way to the trash can and emptied out this morning’s breakfast. It didn’t make things any better that this was the first time Tony had trusted him with something important during a team mission. 

He was quieter than usual as he entered the Quinjet. He took his spot on the bench and sat down, unusually still. He flinched when Tony sighed loudly across from him. 

“Why couldn’t you have just listened to me? Why do you always have to go out and do the reckless, dangerous thing? Can’t you just accept that I know best sometimes? Those people could’ve-“ 

“-But they didn’t. Peter, it’s okay you made a mistake. It happens. But you need to remember that this is a team and you need to be able to listen to your teammates. We can’t trust you with our backs if we can’t trust you to listen.” Steve cut off Tony’s rant, but his stern lecture wasn’t much better. 

After that, the team dropped the incident. At some point or another, all of them had made mistakes - most more costly than Peter’s. By the time the jet was touching down on the tower, they were all chatting happily. Except Peter. 

Peter tried to sneak off and into his assigned room, but was pulled back by Clint to join the team for lunch. He wasn’t hungry. He slowly managed to finish half a sandwich and some chips at the badgering of his teammates, but it didn’t feel good. Once he was back in his room, he threw it all back up into his toilet. 

I don’t even deserve to eat Mr. Stark’s food. I’m a terrible person and it’s just being wasted. Peter miserably flopped down on his bed, staring at the ceiling with a blank expression. He couldn’t shake the melancholy expressions on the faces of all the people he’d put at risk. He’d had a building dropped on him and he almost did the same thing to those people. He couldn’t even be a superhero without causing trouble. 

Days passed and Peter continued his routine as usual. He went to school, spent time in the lab with Tony, and went on patrol. He kept up with his chores at home and attended club meetings. He just didn’t eat. 

Food was expensive at home, and even though no one would admit it, he knew ‘Spiderman’ was already a burden, he couldn’t push his fast metabolism on May too. 

In the tower, he was constantly reminded of his failure. Steve and Natasha would return from a mission, unable to discuss details, but looking happy and satisfied. Clint broke the rules often, and excitedly retold stories about the damage to HYDRA bases he’d caused. All of Tony’s heroic acts were televised over and over on the news. Even when Thor was there, they were discussing his ‘glorious triumphs’.

Peter was just...Peter. He needed to take control. At the very least, he didn’t want to keep dragging everyone around him down. He tried to study harder, practice longer, and go on patrol more often. He still wasn’t eating. His body was past hunger. He was numb with fatigue and exhaustion. 

“Have you lost weight?” Natasha looked him over with critical eyes one morning at breakfast 

Peter had been avoiding mirrors recently, but he knew he must have lost weight. It didn’t feel like a lot though. “Probably, Aunt May’s really been going for it with the healthy food lately. Everything is green.” He smiled and acted as if it was a joke.

Without looking up, Tony chuckled. “Feel free to load up on junk food here kid. Just add whatever you want to the shopping list - someone will pick it up.” 

Natasha just frowned. 

Days passed and Peter pressed on, he would occasionally eat a piece of bread, granola bar, or orange, but he felt guilty and ashamed immediately afterward. He didn’t eat at all when he stayed with his Aunt. The lies and excuses flowed easily from his lips.

The thing was, when living in a house of spies and assassins, normal lies and excuses were not enough. 

“You’re not eating.” 

Peter jolted upright in his bed, clutching at the comforter to cover his previously exposed torso. “What are you doing in my room? How’d you get in here?”

“JARVIS let me in this time, but you and I both know that’s not the only way I could get in here.” 

“He’s not allowed to-“

“He is if we are legitimately concerned with the health and safety of one of our teammates. Why aren’t you eating?” 

Peter tried to stay calm, but the micro expressions on his face displayed his surprise clearly to Natasha. “I was asleep?”

Natasha’s eyes narrowed.

Peter picked at his hands and looked around the room. “Honestly, I’ve just been feeling really sick and I don’t think I can stomach anything.”

Natasha knew he was lying, but didn’t want to call him out too roughly. She could tell this was something deep. She was good at reading deep, and exploiting deep, but fixing deep? That wasn’t something she had mastered yet. 

She sat down next to him and stared at him for a moment, allowing herself time to take in the fullness of his condition. She’d noticed him slimming down, but it was horrifying how fast he’d gone from a healthy teenage boy to a shell of his former self. His spider powers required more food than a typical person would need, and that meant he was starving even faster.

“When was the last time you ate?”

“Yesterday night.”

“What did you eat?” 

Peter glanced away. 

“Are you counting that single piece of popcorn Bruce threw into your mouth?” 

“It’s food.” 

Natasha felt the anger at whatever was doing this to Peter rise within her, and she physically swallowed it down. She couldn’t push him away, not when he looked this bad. “Should Bruce check you out?”

“What?” 

“Well, you’ve been sick for a while now, maybe he can prescribe some medication or something?”

Peter gaped at her. He knew she knew he was lying. She knew he knew. She still choose to go along with the lie. If that’s what he was using to protect himself, she would leave the shield in place. 

“Sure. I’ll go see Bruce tomorrow.”

“He’s probably available right now.” 

“I’m really not feeling-“ 

Natasha’s eyes shot away from Peter’s sickly body to his face just in time to see them roll back in his head. Peter slumped right into her arms. 

“JARVIS, call Bruce to the medbay right now. Tell him Peter’s unconscious.” Natasha scooped up Peter easily. She didn’t even have time to process how light he was as she sprinted to the medbay. 

Bruce’s eyes widened in shock as he saw the tiny boy in Natasha’s arms and a panic he’d never seen before in her eyes. He immediately began assessing the situation and giving orders to set up IV’s. 

When Peter woke up, only Bruce was in the room, bent over his knees in one of theavailable chairs. 

“Peter?” Bruce’s previous drowsiness disappeared when he realized the teen was awake. “How are you feeling?” He spoke softly, almost seeming afraid that a loud voice would break the kid. 

“I’m fine.” Peter rasped out in a voice that definitely did not sound fine. “Just a little sick.” 

“Peter.” Bruce’s voice sounded so exhausted. “Please. I want to help you.” 

He couldn’t do it anymore. Peter started crying. His eyes slowly filled with tears, but once the first one rolled down his cheek, the full blown sobs were released. “Why am I even here?” 

“Peter...”

“I don’t deserve to be an Avenger. I’m not a superhero. Superhero’s have to be smart and strong and good - I’m none of those things.” Peter stopped to catch his breath. “I definitely don’t deserve to be here. Using Mr Stark’s technology and sleeping in his room and eating his food. Why couldn’t the spider have bitten someone else?” 

Bruce sat down on Peter’s hospital bed and rubbed circles on his shoulder, giving him time to calm his violent sobbing. “What about me?” 

“What?” 

“Do I deserve to be here?”

“What?! Of course you do Dr. Banner. You’ve save hundreds of lives with your medical treatment and-“

“-And the Hulk can barely distinguish between enemies and friends half the time. He certainly doesn’t have the motor control to perform a targeted attack. I’ve probably hurt dozens of innocent people, including my own teammates.” 

“But those were accidents.” 

“And you deliberately meant for that tower to fall down?” 

“No! But if I had just-“

“Peter, yes, you could’ve followed Tony’s orders, but life is full of should’ve, could’ve, would’ve’s. We make the best decisions we can at the time we make them and that’s all we can hope to accomplish. Sometimes we make mistakes.” Bruce sighed. “I know you were thinking he was mother-henning you, and that was a valid assumption. Do you know how many times Tony has ignored instructions from Steve and done something stupid because he assumed a different intent? The team isn’t that great at communicating. We need to work on that.” 

“Yeah, but-“

“-Nope. Tony could’ve been clearer with his instructions. He had a second to explain that they were weapons. Does that make him guilty?”

“Of course not.”

“You aren’t either. I know it will take time for you to accept it, but this wasn’t your fault.” Bruce took in Peter’s skeptical expression, and gave up. He’d been through enough that day. He did grab a sandwich that Clint had prepared earlier, Peter’s favorite, and held it out to Peter. “Please?” 

Peter ate the whole sandwich. Bruce made conversation about school and his friends while he ate. Then he left him to rest. The poor kid was exhausted. 

“You up?” 

“Well now I am.” Peter grumbled, shifting under the comforter of his bed and turning his head to see Bucky in the doorframe. 

“Didn’t want the food to get cold.” 

“I don’t-I mean-“

“You don’t have to eat it. I’m going to though. It’s good. I always thought Stark would be the type to order some really expensive pizza. Like one that’s made with cheese from a cow that only ate gold or something and is like the size of a quarter.” Bucky opened the giant box of greasy looking pizza with a grin. “This is good shit though.” 

Bucky ripped the box in half and used the lid as a makeshift plate as he grabbed a slice for himself. He also pulled up a chair to sit down near Peter. “How’s it going?”

“You know.”

“I know Bruce said you weren’t eating. He didn’t say anything else. That’s your business.” 

Peter brightened up. He was sure Bruce would’ve all told the Avengers everything he had confided in the medbay. 

“Hey, kid, we’re a team. We know a lot about each other, but we also know how to respect each other’s privacy. You don’t have to share anything or do anything you don’t want to.” Bucky took a bite of his food. “I can guess though.”

Peter just looked on.

“You’re supposed to be on this team. You’re a valuable addition to the team.” 

“How did you...spy stuff.”

Bucky swallowed. “I know from experience. I know what it’s like to feel like an imposter.” 

Peter’s attention focused completely on Bucky. His mouth fell open.

“I’ve done horrible things - stop that, I know it wasn’t my fault - I’ve gone to all kinds of therapy and talked to all kinds of people. Even though I know this, it doesn’t get rid of all the guilt. That was my body and my brain. I did those things.” 

“That’s...”

“You don’t have to say anything. I’m not asking for reassurance. You don’t have to think anything either. I just think it’s important you know. Everyone on this team has done something awful. Every one of us has things to feel bad about. We’re all guilty. We all live with those feelings.” Bucky grabbed another piece. “That doesn’t excuse doing bad things. And it isn’t meant to be taken as a comparison. It’s just information. Process it as you do. Also, can you explain what Instagram is? Because apparently even Steve has one.” 

“Steve has Instagram?!”

“Apparently. Clint was bugging him about ‘never using it’.” 

“I’m finding it right now.” Peter was already scrolling into his phone. “Woah, Clint wasn’t kidding. These three pictures are fantastic though, where was he when he took this one?” 

Bucky and Peter got sucked into the social media rabbit hole. Before they knew it, they were stalking all the Avengers, then all the SHIELD agents, then all the SI employees. While laughing at a ‘mom selfie’ Happy posted on his Facebook, Peter unthinkingly grabbed a slice of pizza and ate it. Bucky barely contained his proud smile as he pointed out the dog dressed in a sweater vest that Bruce posted. 

The cycle continued. Natasha took Peter out for Thai food after school, successfully getting him to eat three quarters of an entree of Pad Thai and two spring rolls while she told him all about creating the best disguises under pressure. The went home and spent hours doing special affects makeup on one another. Steve nearly had a heart attack when he saw Peter with a giant “gash” dripping on his forehead. 

Steve brought Peter on a motorcycle ride, a move heavily protested by Tony, Natasha, and Sam - who saw how Steve drove that thing. He stopped in at a little dinner about an hour away from the city. Peter ate an entire serving of burgers and fries - gigantic by normal person standards, but about normal for people like Steve and Peter. That didn’t mean it wasn’t a gigantic accomplishment though.They stopped on the way back to stop a robbery in a small corner store. Everything went smoothly and Peter managed to web up the criminal before he made his escape. “We work well as a team.” Steve grinned at him after they had finished talking to the police. 

They also made weekend “team dinners”. Not everyone was available every time, but there were usually at least three to four people. Tony had fancy seafood brought in. Natasha let Peter help her make a traditional Russian dish with mushrooms. Bruce pulled out an old Indian recipe. Sam replicated his favorite foods that his mom made when he was younger. Even Bucky made a stew that he and Steve used to eat - with more ingredients of course. 

At home, May was also aware of the situation and tried to be around during dinner time more for family dinners. Ned and MJ convinced Peter to at least snack during lunchtime. 

With the support system in place, Peter made a slow, but sure recovery. Helping him made the team realize their communication issues, and they started dedicating time toward learning a system of codes and training all together. They made sure to show their appreciation for Peter’s contributions as a teammate which naturally led to them complimenting each other more often. There were still bumps in the road - petty fights, leadership disagreements, blatant ignoring, PTSD, disabilities, and personality differences but knowing how to support each other helped the whole team function much smoother. 

“Then you can aim for the torso.” Natasha smiled proudly at Peter, who had just demonstrated a complicated fighting technique on a realistic moving training dummy.

Steve stuck his head in from the doorway. “Are you guys done yet? Bucky and Sam have started a fight in the lobby waiting for you.”

“Yeah, I’m hungry.” Clint’s whiny voice rang out from an air vent near the ceiling. 

“What are we eating?” Bruce joined Steve at the doorway. 

“We’re going out for Ethiopian food.” Clint responded.

“Who picked that?” Tony wondered allowed. “And are they picking up the check?”

“It was Nat.” Steve answered.

“And no.” Natasha grinned confidently at Tony. “Let’s head out.”

“Alright, fine.” Tony grabbed car keys from his pocket. “Who’s with me?”

“Can I ride the motorcycle?”

“No Peter, you’re definitely with me.” Tony responded without missing a beat. The coddling didn’t sting Peter anymore - he was assured that it was a sigh of affection rather than condescension. 

“I’ll drive the other-“ 

“No” Tony, Natasha, and Steve all responded at the same time to Clint’s question. He had a tendency to drive recklessly whenever he had the chance to use one of Tony’s luxury cars. 

“Fine. Let’s get going though. I can hear my stomach grumbling.” Clint pouted and climbed into the passenger seat beside Natasha. 

“Alright kids, family dinner.” Steve called out to Sam and Bucky, who were still bickering. Bucky walked over triumphantly and slid into Natasha’s car. Sam came begrudgingly into Tony’s with an annoyed look. 

“How are we still crammed in when we’re with the man who owns like a hundred cars?” Clint moaned from his spot on the middle.

“Someone’s childish today.” Sam commented, earning him an eye roll from everyone else. 

“We should go on a road trip!” Peter snapped his fingers with delight.

“No.” 

“This really feels like family.”

“It is kid. It is.” 


	4. Under Surveillance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter’s baby monitor footage gets looked at again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Ailsa_Weasley: 
> 
> “IS THERE A PART TWOO???” on Baby Monitor

“I still need to run a few more tests on the widow bite prototypes, but everything else should be right as rain.” Tony gestured to the new team tech around his workshop. “Alright, Spangles grab your fancy new unitard from the rack and the stealth shield from the tabletop.”

“Can I have this one?” Clint went to grab a black box from the workbench.

“No!” Don’t touch anything that isn’t assigned to you some of them are still - DUM-E. No. Nothing is on fire...yet. Put that thing away.” Tony pushed Clint back to the doorframe. “Actually don’t touch anything. I’ll bring the stuff up and -“

“Warning. New Alert from Iron Spider.”

“Read it to me. Is Peter alright?”

“There has been a security breach in the monitor protocol of the suit. It is currently being disabled.”

“Peter. Again?” Tony sighed. “Override Code: OG Iron. JARVIS block it.”

“They appear to be too deep in to stop the action completely. Peter is still...playing back security footage: Protocol Underoos Watch.”

Tony put his hand on his forehead in defeat. “JARVIS?”

“I’m sorry sir. I cannot stop the playback now. Peter and Ned have been locked out as well. It will randomly cycle through clips until your code gets through. Estimated time: 30 minutes.”

“Welp, let’s grab some popcorn and watch this baby.” Clint pulled up a chair and sat eagerly in front of the screen. “What? Aren’t you guys curious about what he does on patrol?”

Natasha shrugged and sat down with Clint. Steve and Bucky looked at each other, and with a silent conversation, decided to join as well. Bruce seem conflicted “It’s just when he’s wearing the suit right?”

“Or if he leaves it lying around instead of in the case.” Tony seemed unconcerned. “I swear. He leaves a million dollar suit lying around like it's one of his Walmart T-Shirts. I have a theory he might be doing it on purpose so that when I do actually have to find something, I’m going to have to watch hours of his bedroom wall.”

The screen showed a view of the Avengers gym.

—————

“Ned, I swear!”

“Can we even be in here?”

“Well, Mr. Stark said you could spend the day here. I think he’d be fine with you seeing the gym.”

“Okay then.” Ned practically squealed as he took in all the Avenger’s practice tools. “Come on, show me.”

“Okay, okay.” Peter’s voice displaying how happy he was about the idea. “I’ll stand over here.” He walked to the opposite side of the gym and assumed a defensive stance. “Ready?”

“Yes!”

Peter held out his right hand and made a face. On the other side of the room, Thor’s hammer twitched. “Come on. Come on Mew Mew.”

“Mew Mew?”

“I can’t pronounce the name. Jane’s friend called it that.” Suddenly, the hammer whizzed into the air and flew into Peter’s waiting hand. He was pushed backward a bit by the impact, but once he recovered he held it triumphantly in the air.”

“OH MY GOD. Peter that is the coolest thing. You’re holding a literal God’s hammer.”

“I know.” Peter sounded just as excited as his friend.

—————

Natasha and Tony grinned, proud that Peter was able to lift it. Steve was excited too. Clint and Bruce stared in shock at the screen with their mouths gaping open. 

"Do you think he an wield lightening too? Or alter weather patterns?" Bruce's curiosity quickly took over and he began jotting down questions. "Do you have Thor's powers when you hold it?" He turned toward Steve, still furiously scribbling on his pa. 

"Shh, the next one's up." Clint snatched the paper from Bruce and pointed at the symbol on the TV.

\----------

Before the screen lit up, the sound of heavy breathing filled the room.

“Are you good?” Ned’s voice sounded like it was coming through a communication device.

Then the screen revealed Peter, sitting on the top of Stark Tower. He felt his arms and legs quickly. “Yeah, I’m all here....That was close.”

“...yeah.” Ned sighed.

“But it was awesome!”

“It was so awesome!”

“Do you see anything else going on that I should help with?”

“Actually no, the police radio and emergency services lines have been surprisingly empty for the past few minutes.”

“Woah, what am I going to do with this time?”

“We coul-“

“Think I can do a backflip off the Avengers Tower?”

“Yes!”

On screen, Peter glanced around at his surroundings and Tony felt his heart stop.

“Yeet!” Peter proceeded to kick off the building and do about fifteen continuous back flips before catching himself just before he could hit the ground. “Woah...”

Peter’s expression was taken over by a face-splitting grin as he lifted one hand from the balcony railing he’d be clutching in triumph.

“So cool! Peter could you-“

—————

During this exchange, Tony had sat down. He drafted a stern text message to chastise Peter for doing unnecessarily dangerous things. 

"That was so awesome. Think he'll do it again so I can see it in person?" Clint excitedly stood up from his seat. 

"He will not." Steve answered. "Don't suggest doing something so reckless to him."

Bucky snorted at Steve, who did his best to look angry in return. 

"I'm going to talk to him right now." Tony moved to finish his text, heart still beating slightly faster than normal. 

Natasha put her hand over his phone. "Probably want to wait until the end of this. Send it all in one." She was grinning though, thoroughly amused by the spectacle. 

\----------

The screen lit up, yet again, to a view of the section of Tony’s workshop unofficially dubbed ‘Peter’s Workbench’. There was soft humming as Peter reached for a squeeze bottle from the countertop. He glanced back down at a piece of paper chock full of calculations and observations.

He carefully measured out some of the liquid in a graduated cylinder and then poured it into a mixture in a flask marked “S#26”. It fizzed and bubbles for a moment before calming down.

“Let’s test you out!” Peter shook the vial a few times and poured it into his web-shooters. He snapped the metal contraption on his wrist and threw up an apple with the other. Presumably, he meant to stick the apple to the clean wall behind him, but his phone shook to life - vibrating and loudly playing “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley. The noise startled Peter and he ended up shooting the web at his other hand, which was now stuck to the side of the bench.

“Uh Oh.” Peter glanced at his hand before quickly picking up the phone. “Hi, May.”

There was some talking on May’s end, but Peter just nodded and said “Okay” or “That’s fine” ever so often. Just before he hung up, he gave a genuine smile. “I love you too!”

“Who changed my ringtone?” He looked inquisitively at the phone, and went to reach for it with his other hand. It was in that moment that he remembered his left hand was stuck. He frowned and pulled again, but the hand was not coming off.

“Damn...” He muttered under his breath, but there was also a bit of pride in his eyes looking at the product of his new web formula.

The sound of the door opening was audible in the background and Peter quickly covered his hand with a nearby grease stained towel.

“Hi, Kid.”

“Oh, hello Mr. Stark!”

“Do you want to help me with the specs for the new gauntlet?”

Peter’s eyes widened, and he shifted in his seat to move his hands in an excited gesture, but instantly remembered his predicament. “I’m sorry, but I have a lot to do right now, maybe some other time?”

Tony looked shocked and a little hurt. Peter had refused hanging out with him for such vague reasons before.

—————

Bucky and Clint were all but doubled over with how intensely they were laughing. Steve and Natasha were chuckling along with Bruce. Tony rolled his eyes. 

"Why didn't he just tell me that he was stuck? I could've helped him."

"Yeah, why do any scientists attempt things on their own and refuse to ask for help, only for it to blow up in their faces. Natasha pointedly looked back at Tony and Bruce. 

\----------

The next clip was of a slightly slanted view of the tower living room. 

Tony rolled his eyes. “See guys, this is what I’m talking about.” He held his hands up to cup his mouth and loudly lectured toward the screen. “Put your suit away Peter.”

\----------

Peter was fast asleep on the couch, presumably after a round of video games of the controller near his hand was any indication. A tiny creak was heard, off and in the distance, but with Peter’s hearing, he jerked awake.

He sat up and took in his surroundings. He seemed to hear something else, but didn’t act nervous or frightened. Peter placed his controller back on the table and looked at the door right as Steve walked in - clad in only flannel pajama bottoms.

Steve’s eyes were glossy and far away. He was almost shaking and a little bit sweaty.

“Mr. Rogers?” Peter spoke softly. “It’s me, Peter.”

“Ah, Peter. I’m sorry, did I wake you?” Steve had to stare at Peter for a few seconds before shaking his head and responding.

“No, I was just playing a few games.” Peter gestured to the controller. “Would you like to join me, or watch some TV?” He shifted his legs to make room on the couch.

“Kids shouldn’t be up so late.” Steve said, but obediently sat on the couch anyway.

Peter laughed and put on some mindless TV for background noise. “Are you cold?” It wasn’t freezing or anything in the tower, but Peter thought a blanket would help. Without needed a response, he grabbed one from a nearby bin and handed it to Steve.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Peter asked casually, not putting any pressure on Steve.

Steve opened his mouth to respond, but the loading symbol popped up, indicating the arrival of the next clip.

—————

The room was silent as the next screen loaded. Tony could remember at least two occasions that Peter was ‘up’ and able to distract him from Afghanistan nightmares. He’d even lightly teased the kid for staying up so late on a weeknight and for being a night owl. Tony may have blinked away some extra moisture from his eyes as he, once again, realized what a selfless, caring person Peter was.

Steve also leaned back in his chair and stared off into nothing. He looked appreciative though, and Tony was sure he was going to talk to Peter about not waking up on his behalf. He knew Peter would convince Steve it wasn’t a problem, or find other ways to help though. 

Bucky seemed affected as well. Tony could only imagine the terrors that kept him up at night. It seemed like Peter had helped a lot of them survive rough nights.

Natasha, Clint, and Bruce all had emotional expressions plastered on their faces, also contemplating Peter’s actions, surely to try and subtly repay him.

They all snapped out of it when the next segment came on. 

—————

“Was that too loud?” Peter spoke toward the lizard who was hiding behind a fern in his case. “Sorry buddy, but Doom has to be stopped. I don’t know what he thought he was going to do with all those snakes though.”

Peter continued walking through the insect and reptile. He side-eyed the tarantula display case as he passed it and then slowly walked backward until he was in front of it again.

“You’re not insects or reptiles are you?” Peter crouched down to the spider’s level. “Can you understand me? Is the glass too thick for you to hear? Can I just not hear you?”

He waited for a response. “It’d be so cool if I could talk to spiders. What would you guys even talk about? It’d be like Harry Potter except for not snakes. Have you heard of Harry Potter?....”

Peter began rambling about Harry Potter to the spider, occasionally asking questions like the spiders could answer. During one of the pauses, Peter looked expectantly at the spider.

He was not anticipating the spider to leap on the group. Peter let out a shrill yelp and fell to the ground, right on his butt. He quickly looked around, blush on his face and stood up.

“Bye guys!” He waved to them as he left.

————-

“This? Again?” Clint groaned in a entertained way at the screen. “Didn’t he already try this?” 

“I think he just admires Scott.” Steve answered.

“That would be so badass though.” Bucky added, everyone nodding slightly in agreement. 

—————

The view as Peter swung around New York was fantastic. The city skyline dipped in and out of view as he swung low. It could almost make someone dizzy how fast he was going.

Then Peter pulled his phone out of his makeshift pocket. He looked down and started a text message, then looked up and typed without looking, only glancing down a few times. He switched hands every time he cast a web.

Overall, it looked dangerous and stupid. Even Clint squeaked as Peter narrowly avoided slamming into the side of a building.

When sirens were in earshot, he pocketed the phone and went down to assist the police in a chase after a bank heist.

—————

“That is it! I’m done. How could he-“ Tony spoke, addressing no one in particular, completely exasperated. “He has an AI. She could easily read him texts.” 

“That’s definitely not safe. If he wouldn’t do it driving he shouldn’t do it on the webs.” Bruce stated, getting agreement from most of the crowd.

“I mean, it looks like he knows what he was doing, and there’s no traf-“ Bucky cut himself short at Tony’s glaring face. 

—————

“Kid, do you see a red wire to your right?” Tony’s voice was accompanied by a bit of static as Peter listened to him through an ear pierce. The teen appeared to be army crawling through some sort of vent or shaft that was surrounded by exposed electronic equipment and wires.

Peter turned his head to look to his right, but there was only a mess of tangled black cords. “No, only black ones.” He scrutinized the pile “And they’re in a huge ball. Who organizes equipment like this?”

Tony sighed, “Apparently AIM can gather bright scientists from every field except electrical engineering.”

“Makes you respect electrical engineers.” Peter said, amused.

“True.... Do you think you passed them? About five feet back?”

“Maybe? I was looking ahead, but I’ll check though.” Peter seemed to assess the situation. Then he folded himself almost in half to turn around in the enclosed space.

“Nope, they’re blue over here.”

“Jeez kid that was fast.”

“It’s called being young.”

“Careful, I’m going to leave you to fend for yourself in there.”

Peter rolled his eyes with a grin on his face. “Oh no.”

“Okay, try going up and to the left. There should be a turn up coming up.”

“Yes sir.” Peter folded himself into an impossible position and then crawled back to where he came from. Once he approached the left turn, he realized it was extremely sharp and cluttered with junk. He had to lift himself over a large bump and basically dislocate his shoulders to get through.

“I see it!”

“Great! Can you get out?”

“Easily.”

—————

“Woah!” Clint chirped excitedly. “He navigated that air vent amazingly. Did you know he could do that? Is flexibility a spider power?” 

Bruce also seemed intrigued by Peter’s newly discovered ability.

Tony felt a little guilty seeing the teen crammed in that tiny space. He’d thought there was more room.

————— 

“Hi, Mr. Stark” Peter answered the call from inside his suit.

“Hey Underoos, are you able to swing by for some suit readjustments?”

“Sure Mr. Stark! I just have to deal with something real quick.” The sound of car tires squealing punctuated the end of his sentence.

“Is that-did you pick up the phone in the middle of something on patrol? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s just a small time convenience store robbery.” Peter’s voice sounded nonchalant. “I’ll be back in like an hour.”

Tony agreed and hung up.

Peter was very much not in the middle of a “small-time convenience store robbery”. The video feed showed Spiderman tied to a chair with his hands bound behind him and several large mobster-type men surrounding him.

“So, guys…”

—————

Words weren’t even exchanged, just looks.

Tony added another thing to his list of items to address with Peter. The others, realizing their hypocrisy, kept their mouths shut. 

—— 

"Over the shoulder and around the waist..." Peter mumbled to himself as a swung a weapon around his body. His movements were clearly unfamiliar, but they weren't necessarily clumsy. He seemed to be training to use the short staff-like weapon in his hand.

For a few moments, he continued his training, alternating between watching his movements in the mirror and glancing down at his hands.

"Over the shoulder and - whoops" The staff slipped from his hand. The grace with which Peter had been swinging it must have masked the power he was swinging it with, because the staff went flying toward the studio's wall. It promptly crashed through the wall, taking enough drywall to leave a hole three times the size of Peter. When it crashed to the ground, it melted through the floor and clunked to the lower floor. A loud beeping was audible.

"Shit!" Peter rushed downstairs and disarmed the weapon. He immediately pulled his phone out of his pocket and found Natasha's number under his favorited contacts.

"I kinda have a situation with the - yeah the claw. Can you - yes. Thank you."

\----------

“Damn it Natasha...” 

“Hey, he’s an Avenger, he deserves to know how to conduct himself in battles that aren’t just swinging. 

“Couldn’t you have given him something else for training. Something that wasn’t my newest piece of weapons technology that no one had cared about. 

—————

"Just because you're a hamster doesn't mean -" Peter paused from his lecture. "Did I just say hamster?"

He started giggling. "Sorry, I meant 'gangster'. How do you even get those two confused?" He tried to continue with whatever he was going to say but couldn't get words out between the laughs and deep breaths.

When a Petco truck with a hamster photo on the side drove by, he completely lost it. Peter sat down and chuckled on the floor.

The villain, who had been watching this scene, nowhere close to as amused as Peter, had managed to undo the binding and was slowly standing up to make a run for it. Without even opening his eyes, Peter fired a web, sticking the large man back in place immediately.

"Come on," Peter wiped a tear from his eye. "Where was I?"  
\----------

Everyone rolled their eyes. It was time to have a talk with Peter. 

And if the panicked look as he opened the FaceTime from Tony, Peter knew exactly what happened, and he was not ready to see the footage.


	5. Support (Spidermom)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by MarvelObsessedgirl3:
> 
> “Please do another chapter with Natasha and Peter! Maybe something a bit darker, like self harm or suicidal thoughts?? I think you’d write it really well x”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **This one is finally out. I know my timing with requests is somewhat erratic, but I just wanted to let you guys know - if you do request something like this, it’ll probably take longer than my usual. This is because a) I’ve never had suicidal or self-harm tendencies so I try to google things to make sure I’m not horrifically misrepresenting mental illness and b) I try not to get too deep in my sad feelings so I take more breaks than usual writing them. I definitely don’t mind writing them though! I wanted to clarify tho.
> 
> **Also, I’ve been reading lots of politics lately because I was filling out my ballot (mailed it in today). Because of that, I kept writing Trump tower instead of Stark tower. I think I fixed all of them but please let me know if not.

Peter unfolded himself from his crouched position as he slowly stood up. The wind whipping around him was frigid and his skin had long since gone numb, but he couldn’t find the effort to care. The only reason he was moving at all is because Aunt May would be home soon and he didn’t want her to know he was gone.

“I’m sorry.” He rearranged the flowers one last time before sparing one last glance at the stone. Benjamin Parker. The name didn’t seem to fit. The etching was formal and grey and gloomy - nothing like how Peter remembered his uncle.

The physical reminder the man he remembered was gone forever created a lump in the teen’s throat and for the umpteenth time, he struggled to keep tears from falling.

He just barely managed to open his textbook and slide into his desk chair by the time May came looking at him for dinner. The pasta dish that he usually loved looked unappetizing. Lifting the fork to his mouth was a chore and he only had a few bites before thanking his aunt and excusing himself.

He went to bed early that night, but he couldn’t sleep until a few hours before he had to be awake again.

“I want homework in the box by the door. I’ll be collecting it in five minutes, anything after that gets no credit.”

Peter mechanically unzipped his bag and pulled out his binder. He turned to the right section and it was...empty? He flipped through the rest of his binder and sure enough, the homework wasn’t there. He had forgotten to do it while lying in his bed. He  never forgot to do class assignments.

He slumped back in his chair, the consuming numbness he had felt waking up more noticeable as he frowned at his stupid mistake. It was not going to be a good day. Every second of class seemed to grate on his nerves. Writing hurt his hand and he couldn’t listen for more than a few minutes at a time.

“Hey, Pete, we’re gonna go find somewhere to eat with good wifi so we can check out that new computer game everyone’s been raving about!” Ned loudly invited his friend to hang out.

“I just want to see how kickass the female lead is.” MJ smirked and gestured, expecting Peter to follow.

Peter shook his head. “Sorry guys, I have plans with Aunt May. I’ll see you around.” 

They both seemed a bit confused - usually Aunt May was around when Peter got home, but went to work shortly after. Having plans with her was unusual. They shrugged and accepted it though, quickly saying their goodbyes and then excitedly rushing to get in a car and head off.

Peter trudged home.

“How was your day sweetheart?”

“Fine.”

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah.”

May made a disapproving face. “Alright, go sleep off the attitude.”

Peter made his way to his room. He unpacked his backpack to start his math homework, but sat down for a break first. He mindlessly scrolled through the Internet for hours, ever so often stopping to try and get started on his work, but never succeeding. He wasn’t enjoying the content, but the effort required to get over to his desk and start working seemed impossible to find. He didn’t want to procrastinate with music or movies or Legos either. Nothing seemed worth it.

As time went by, his to-do list became more daunting. He listed every little thing he needed to do, from homework to dinner to showering, and obsessed over each task - spiraling into a strange mixture of stress and the inability to do anything about it. He felt lazy and useless. People thought he was intelligent and had potential. Hell, the Tony Stark had told him that. Peter didn’t feel that way at all. He had somehow tricked all these people into praising a failure. 

The sun had begun to set and his room grew darker. Peter went downstairs and nuked some leftovers. He ate sluggishly, acutely aware of how alone he was in the apartment. He didn’t have any right to feel lonely: he had been the one to lie to his friends, had been the one to act coldly to May, right? He sighed and flopped on the couch. He wanted to do something exciting but nothing excites him. He didn’t even want to patrol.

The knife lying next to the sink seemed to glint at him. He got up, nearly instinctively, and walked back into the kitchen. He rinsed the knife. He lifted it in his hand, stared at it for what seemed like forever. He adjusted his grip several times, moving the knife near his arm.

He pressed the blade sideways to his forearm, staring at the picture it made. Without further hesitation, he dragged the edge along his skin, leaving a small line of red. Then, there was pain.

Pain.

Peter wanted more. The pain became his focus. He was momentarily distracted from the emotional toil of being an undeserving burden, the emptiness he felt had something to fill it.

By the time May came home, the marks had completely disappeared and the knife was properly shelved.

The need became compulsive. He needed the outlet. In school he would rub an eraser over his wrist until the skin rubbed off. He used kitchen knives and razor blades at home.

He was still isolating himself from his friends and family. He still struggled for the will to do anything. He couldn’t remember what had made him happy or how true excitement felt. The control make him forget. The pain made him forget.

May was worried about Peter. He seemed so detached lately. His eyes were so dead and his tone always sounded melancholic.She dialed up Tony. 

“Peter, you’re going to stay at Avenger’s Tower this weekend.” May’s face broke into a smile as she announced the news.

Peter smiled, actually smiled, as well and she internally felt a rush of relief. She’d done the right thing.

Peter was genuinely looking forward to his trip when May announced it. That mood dissipated all too quickly the following day.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go. He definitely couldn’t think of a concrete reason why he wasn’t excited, but something seemed to have walled off his feelings.Despite that, he packed his bags, as usual, and was waiting outside by the time Happy swing by to pick him up.

“You’re awfully quiet.”

“Just tired.”

Happy brushed it off and rode the rest of the way in silence. He definitely did not mind the change of pace and cheerfully said goodbye when Peter stepped out.

In the tower, JARVIS greeting the teen and informed him that Tony would be out for a bit, but he was free to use the lab or the gym. They had recently had to reconstruct the gym, due to a little “accident” with the Hulk, and Peter wanted to see the finished product.

When Tony swung by, a couple hours later, Peter was punching one of the bags. At second look, Tony realized that Peter did not have gloves or wraps on and that his knuckles were split and covered in blood.

“Kid, stop.”

Peter flinched and then turned around to face Tony. His shoulders were hunched over and his eyes were filled with shame. 

Tony saw the pitiful way Peter was standing and felt a bit sad. He wracked his brain as to what was causing it. It took a couple moments before his brain figured it out - Peter was embarrassed that he could afford gloves.

Each of the Avengers had their own pair for comfort sake, but Tony had forgotten to get some for Peter. There was wrapping in the closet, but maybe Peter didn’t know how to use it or it didn’t feel right.

“How about you hold off on the punching bag for right now?”

“It’ll heal in an hour.”

“I know, but still.” Tony rolled his eyes. “I’ll get you some gloves. Look. Ordering them now.” Tony swiped through the color options JARVIS provided and bought one red and one blue. “Now go clean up. Let’s go to the lab.”

In the middle of the hallway, Peter nearly bumped into Natasha. “Woah! Oh, hi Ms. Romanoff.”

Her lips tilt upward in an amused smirk, that is, until she notices the cuts and bruises. “How did that happen?”

“I didn’t have gloves for the punching bag.”

“I’ll help you disinfect those.” Her voice leaving no room for question. Peter obediently followed her to the bathroom where she pulled out a first aid kit.

She didn’t believe that was all. Peter was a smart kid, he normally, if he didn’t have gloves, he wouldn’t have used the bags. She also didn’t think he had an intrinsic desire to work out seeing as the placement of the injuries revealed poor form and sloppy punches. She kept that to herself, opting to monitor him more closely and gather information.

She notices that when Tony needs to rush out of the lab because he missed the beginning of a meeting, Peter starts having “accidents” where he cuts or burns himself with the tools. 

She sees him frown at a selfie of May and her friends at a coworker’s house for a dinner party. She’s about to talk to him when he lurches forward, grabs his spider suit, and climbs out the window.

She gets on the roof just in time to see him swing from building to building around the tower. Even under the mask, it’s clear he’s distraught. He gets low on some swings and takes longer to shoot out the webs to lift him back up - it’s as if he has to contemplate saving himself. After one particularly close call, Natasha demands that JARVIS patch her through to Karen.

“Hey, Peter.” She waits for a noise of recognition. “Can you meet me on the roof?”

Within minutes, Peter had made his way back up to the top of Stark tower. Natasha made a knowing face and Peter curled in on himself, awaiting a lecture. She didn’t want to leave the topic untouched, but she also didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable.

“Come watch TV with me?”

“I’m not sure if I...”

“It’s more fun with you there. I like having you around.”

Peter’s eyes widened slightly with disbelief, but he followed her to her personal living room, where he made himself comfortable on the couch.

“Popcorn?” 

“Yes.”

“What kind?”

“You have multiple kinds?” 

“Well, I got these different seasonings from a gift exchange. Let’s see, we’ve got Salt and Vinegar, Cracked Pepper, Garlic Parmesan, and Jalapeño. I also have nutritional yeast. Or if you’re feeling something sweet, I’ve got sugar, butter, and baking powder so we could whip up some caramel corn. Oh, and one of the SHIELD agents eats hers with prickly juice, which I have but have never tried.”

“Um-“ Peter ran through the options again. “Can I try all of them?”

Natasha grinned. “That sounds like a plan.”

Peter joined her in the kitchen and they made an absurd amount of popcorn favored differently.

“You have to keep your eyes closed.” Peter laughed.

“I wouldn’t be able to tell which one is which even if I had them open.” Natasha amusedly grumbled.

“You definitely could. They’re clearly different colors. Open up.” Peter tossed a few pieces of popcorn into Natasha’s waiting mouth. “Now what flavor was that?”

“...Pepper?”

“No that ones just plain salted.” Peter frowned “Maybe the pepper one needs more seasoning.” He tilted the container to sprinkle some more of the powder into the bowl, but a chunk fell, causing him to sneeze several times. 

Natasha openly laughed at his mistake, but she refilled his glass of water. They continued their game until Natasha decided to queue up her show.

Peter and Natasha were able to have a light conversation as the shows played, making commentary that they each found hilarious.

But after a couple hours, Natasha stopped the next show from starting. She shifted from her position so she was leaning against the headrest and fully facing Peter. “I’ve noticed that you’ve had a few marks recently. And it seems like you’ve been in a lot of pain. Do you want to talk to me about it?”

Peter hesitated, contemplating whether or not to tell her about the truth. He was terrified. Terrified of what was going on in his mind, but also terrified that his friends and family would abandon him if they found out. Natasha seemed to notice something on his face and she scooted over to wrap him in a hug. “You don’t have to tell me now, but just know, I’ll help you through it. I’m not leaving.”

Peter leaned in, feeling a bit of warmth fill his chest. He still wasn’t ready to talk about it without crying, but the reaffirmed safety with Natasha lifted weight off his shoulders. He wanted to get better.

The next day, his gloves came in. Natasha happened to be standing around when he opened them up, and she offered to teach him how to throw a punch. They ended up exercising together almost daily, and Natasha had a million fighting techniques and tips for Peter so they switched it up pretty often.

Afterwards, Peter had the confidence to slowly open up to her, and he admitted how he had been feeling and thinking. It hadn’t gone away entirely, but it was more in the background of his thoughts than front and center now.

Natasha told him, without comparison, how when she first entered SHIELD, she felt like no one actually liked her. They all knew about her violent past and they knew who she had worked for. It didn’t matter than many of them were sympathetic toward her struggle or respected her growth. In her mind, they all hated her and she deserved it. She felt lonely and isolated herself further. She told Peter about the help she received overcoming that mindset and how she doesn’t think about it often anymore.

Finally, Peter was able to begin opening up to other people. He spent more time with his friends and doing things he enjoyed - like LEGOS. He was more excited to patrol and felt more useful with his new skills. He felt like he had a purpose to live and a support system to carry him through the hard times.

He was ready to take things day by day and see where they lead. Natasha was ready to guide him through it. 


	6. Disability not Definition (Clint-Centric)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by SilentCookie:
> 
> Anyway, I know most of the fics in this series of yours are Peter-centric, but I wanted to ask if maybe you would be up to something Clint-centric?
> 
> I would love to read something about Deaf!Clint. Something along the lines that his deafness wasn't really common knowledge (for the public, the Avengers know about this), because he has special combi comm/hearing aids he's wearing outside on missions or something, but somehow it got out and there are just some (not everyone, but people like that are always the loudest) really nasty reporters/interviewers/journalists/people who are ableists and talking bullsh*t about how someone like him can't be a real superhero and he wouldn't deserve being an Avenger, that as a "damaged" human with a bow he wouldn't deserve to stand beside enhanced humans (like Steve, Bucky, Peter and kind of Bruce and Natasha) and geniuses, people in armour stronger than a tank etc. And most of the time Clint is good about ignoring this kind of things but he had a bad day or something... Anyway, the point is: insecure!Clint (about his deafness), protective!Avengers (roasting the assholes who said that) and comforting!Avengers (towards Clint, lots of fluff)!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day y'all!

“Getting advice from your friends?” The villain’s tone was mocking as he reached for Clint’s communicators. “Well that just won’t do. You ‘superheroes’-“

The man threw the devices to the floor and crushed them with the heal of his boot. Clint resisted the urge to sigh - Tony was definitely going to give him shit about losing two pairs in one week. He shimmed to release some of the pressure the restraints had on his wrists, but it wasn’t an escape attempt. He’d already noticed the flash of red hair behind the villain - now it was just time to wait. 

At least he didn’t have to listen to another monologue. They were always so whiny. And **so** pathetic.Why were so many people obsessed with Tony? It really killed Clint’s whole superhero action vibe when some dumbass won’t shut up about some minor snub Tony made like twenty years ago. Even if the mask wasn’t covering the villain’s mouth, Clint wouldn’t have tried to read his lips. 

He bit back a smile as he saw Natasha saunter up behind the man and swiftly knock him unconscious. She efficiently cut off the metal cuffs, allowing him to sign with her. 

“You’re really going to make me save your ass again?” She smirked at him, humor in her eyes.

He shrugged, “didn’t want to break my nails picking the lock.” 

She rolled her eyes and they both headed out of the warehouse toward the pick-up spot. 

Tony joked about how nice it was to reunite with old friends and Steve filled out an initial assessment on his tablet with a serious look on his face. Clint rifled through the bins for his spare pair of hearing aids. Damn, it was three pairs this week - he really was in for it. 

When he glanced up, Tony was looking expectantly his way. Steve tore his eyes away from his paperwork and immediately saw the issue. He informed Tony that Clint didn’t have his communicators and Tony repeated his question. This time making sure Clint was able to read his lips. He also signaled to Jarvis to show Clint a written transcript of anything his teammates said in the jet if he wanted. Natasha and Bucky, who was still unfit for missions, were the only ones who were fluent in sign language. Steve knew some dated ASL due to his hearing impairment in the forties, and he was rapidly picking up on the differences. Bruce and Tony were more likely to use other methods of communication, some, especially Tony’s, got creative. 

“We’re going outside to clean up all that green shit his bots spewed everywhere. Joining us?”

Clint followed with a spring in his step. Bruce had allowed him to borrow the chemistry lab for a few days and he had engineered soap bombs that would blow all the garbage right off the sidewalk. Natasha noticed, and once again, rolled her eyes with a smile. He winked and grabbed a bag from the back of the jet. 

Unfortunately, the noise alerted a lot of people of the Avenger’s location. Reporters swarmed to find Captain America doubled over in laughter at the sight of Ironman and Hawkeye, hair stuck upright and covered in suds. 

Steve started fielding questions about safety and Natasha disappeared, unwilling to get involved in the media circus. Tony had just enough time to blast Clint with an emergency hose in revenge, before the other two men got sucked into the madness.

“Captain! Do you think the government will help subside the reconstruction of nearby infrastructure?” “Well, I believe…”

“Should special precautions be taken in containing a man of this intellect? In your opinion, Mr. Stark, would a normal jail be an appropriate place for him?” “This man is not…

“Hawkeye, can you give listeners the details of what happened in the warehouse? Did the villain reveal his motives?” “It wasn’t much of a…”

Clint couldn’t hear all the conversations going on around him, but he could focus on one reporter at a time. He could sense the buzz in the atmosphere surrounding him. 

He could also sense when something was wrong. The reporter's lips had stopped moving and she had her head tilted in confusion. Surveying his surroundings, Clint realized she wasn't the only one staring. Directly behind him, there was a child who was probably no older than five. 

Clint got Steve's attention. Steve was able to sign the jist of what had occurred. The child had slipped under their makeshift stanchion barrier, screaming out for Hawkeye. Clint had been mid-way through answering a question and hadn't noticed until after quite a bit of yelling. 

"Well if I wasn't deaf already, it seems like you could've sealed the deal little man." Clint ruffled the kid's hair and then offered his hand for a high five. The kid was ecstatic, screaming in joy over seeing his hero. He had a smile big enough to split his face when he returned to his mom with a signature on his toy bow. 

Tony was chuckling at the whole encounter while Steve fondly watched over the scene. Clint almost forgot that this was the first time he'd ever revealed his hearing impairment to anyone outside of friends and family. 

That was, until the kid's mother, ushering him away from the crowd, said "Why isn't your favorite Captain America? Or Iron Man? Or the Hulk? Hawkeye is...?" She had turned her head to glance at Clint as she spoke to her child. Maybe she thought she wouldn't be noticed in the huge crowd. Maybe she forgot he could read lips. Either way, Clint could see the disdain in her expression and it stung. Steve, with his superhuman hearing, must've overheard and noticed the twitch in Clint's smile because he wrapped up the interview quickly, nipping all accusatory questions in the bud. 

When they got home, Clint good mood had been killed, but he wasn't overall feeling bad either. He was used to stupid comments - mainly about his status as a regular human being. He just wanted to take a hot shower and curl up on the couch with a sandwich. 

By the time he plopped down on the couch, Sam had already joined him. JARVIS automatically switched the TV to subtitles. Clint waved the remote control and mimicked changing the channel. 

"As long as it's not the Bachelor." 

Clint jokingly pointed to his ear and pretended like he couldn't understand the man sitting next to him. 

"Barton, I swear.."

Clint chuckled, but he dutifully clicked past the channel. Natasha constantly warned him that trashy reality TV would rot his brain, but it was his guilty pleasure so he didn't really care if she caught him watching Say Yes to the Dress again. 

As he was flipping through the channels, going fast enough that Sam was complaining that there was 'no way' he could actually see what was on, he saw himself and stopped.

There, taking up the full screen, was a video of one of the worst moments of his life. It was during a fight with alien life forms. Tony and Thor had taken the skies while Steve, Clint and Natasha kept them corralled on the ground. A bomb had exploded, killing quite a few of them, but also wrecking Clint's aids. He hadn't heard Natasha call for backup from a nearby rooftop, and she was flung from the fourth story from the aliens who had overwhelmed her. Luckily, Steve was able to sprint from his location and catch her, but she still she fractured her spine in the fall. There were several hours where Bruce couldn't tell them if her unconscious form would wake up to full mobility again. Everyone on the team, including Natasha, insisted that it wasn't his fault, but guilt was inevitable and it swallowed him whole. Tony had fixed his hearing aids to be more durable after that. 

Clint felt a lump in his throat as he watched the TV. The video had now minimized and a reporter was talking over it. "This is just another instance Hawkeye's disability getting in the way of his work. Is the Avengers the right place for him?"

Sam changed the channel, but Clint snatched the remote back when he saw the feed from earlier today. "What if that had been someone calling for help? For a man who calls himself a hero, Hawkeye wouldn't have been able to give something as simple as the Heimlich if he couldn't hear the warning signs."

"If someone needed the Heimlich, they'd be choking," Sam snorted at the screen. "I don't know if anyone would be able to hear that through a crowd." 

Clint tried to huff a small laugh, but he couldn't even manage that. The feed switched to a montage of bystander footage of mistakes he'd made in battle. Most of them were insignificant. Most of them weren't even in situations where his hearing had been affected. 

It hurt. He curled himself protectively around the remote, knowing Sam would try to change the channel, knowing he should change the channel himself. He couldn't bring himself to do it though. JARVIS made the call in the end, switching to Kitchen Nightmares instead. It didn't help. 

Sam offered his support as a friend and trash talked the media for jumping on a story with such a strong bias and almost no facts, but, as much as he wanted to feel better at the speech, Clint just couldn't. He crawled into bed that night wishing that it would all go away by the morning. 

He woke up to a buzzing on his nightstand. When he checked his phone, he had thousands of notifications on his social media sites and from news tags of himself. He saw a flood of support, but the criticisms actually stuck. #NotMyHero was trending on twitter, and a small group of very vocal people were loud about their distaste for a disabled hero. Behind those who were outright hating on him were those who “just think it’s only logical that the team I rely on to save the world should only the best of the best. It’s just common sense that disability means you can’t be the best” or who “think Clint is brave for doing his best out there, but if I had to pick an Avenger to be my bodyguard - he’d be my last choice.” 

A side-by-side of Steve, posing with his hands on his hips, and Clint, who had just been knocked in the gut, with writing over it “comparing” the two based on physical strength, reflexes, and senses was almost viral. 

Against his better judgment, he clicked on the most recent link on his newsreel. Four people were sitting around a table. A news ticker crawled along the bottom of the page that read “Should Hawkeye be an Avenger? We Discuss the Superhero Standard”. The first woman opened the conversation by explaining that she personally would not feel safe letting her live rest in the hands of a deaf man. She continued by stating that he was too dependent on his hearing aids and if they failed, everyone would be in danger. A man chimed in at this point and theorized that Hawkeye must have recently become deaf because there was no way all his past heroic actions were done by a deaf man. He said it was “admirable” that the man kept saving the world, but it was only logical that the rest of the Avengers team had shifted to become less reliant on him. The third person agreed, adding in that Hawkeye “was probably kept up as a publicity stunt” to show off “diversity” for the liberals. Together, they theorized that Hawkeye must’ve botched the last mission because he didn’t have his aids in.

The last woman, who had been silently frowning for most of the “conversation” occasionally chimed in to point out that when bombs went off, a lot of the Avengers had to work deaf for a few minutes or hours and finish their battles. She reminded them that Tony Stark was also reliant on technology for his power, but both Hawkeye and Ironman were smart men who could handle it. Despite her arguments, she was always spoken over or ignored, and she remained fairly isolated from the group.

Clint felt shitty. Memories of his father telling him he’d never amount to anything blended with the horror of violently losing his hearing. He didn’t doubt that he had valuable skills, but was he really fit to be an Avenger? He wasn’t really better than other agents in SHIELD, and he definitely didn’t measure up to the super soldiers and geniuses he lived and worked with. Even on that last mission, he had been bait while Natasha, Steve, and Tony cleaned up. He hadn’t done much besides getting strapped to a chair. 

After torturing himself with comments and videos, he made his way downstairs for some food. He walked past Bucky and Steve watching the news - the video of him and the child again - and fiddled with his hands. As soon as Bucky heard him, he turned around and he was _glaring_. His expression softened as he took in Clint’s appearance. “They don’t know anything about you.” 

Steve nodded. “They really have no right to speak about anyone like that. You’ve saved so many lives and helped a lot of people.”

Clint swallowed hard and tried to smile but on the inside he was thinking “not as many as you.”

Steve and Bucky noticed. They saw right through the fake smile. They saw the sag in his shoulders and the heaviness in his step. They saw the self-doubt in his eyes.

Natasha was two steps ahead of them. She came out from wherever she’d been hidden. “So what are we going to do?” 

“I think it’s time for a team meeting.” Steve pulled out his phone to text Sam, Bruce, and Tony.

—————

Clint flopped backwards onto his bed and closed his eyes. He breathed deeply through his nose and rubbed the sides of his head. The day had been uneventful, but the effort to get through it had seemed tremendous. Without clicking anything, his TV switched on. “JARVIS, what the -“

His question got interrupted as he saw Steve on the screen in full Captain America garb. Clint checked his phone for any notifications of a mission, but there was nothing. 

“Hawkeye didn’t need hearing to take down the Chitauri and save New York City. He didn’t need hearing when he single handedly took down the robot army that invaded LA last week because the rest of the team had fallen into a trap in Poland. He didn’t need his hearing to help design the improvements to our jet and he didn’t need his hearing to build a containment unit for that dangerous bioweapon that terrorists tried to unleash in the subways. He does not need his hearing to keep up with the rest of our team. He has not needed his hearing for any of the accomplishments he’s made.” Steve took a moment to sternly look every single reporter in the eyes before continuing. “Hawkeye has been loyal to our country and it’s people since the beginning. He’s prevented countless disasters and saved just as many lives. He’s a hero and I trust him with my life. Hawkeye has my back. He has his teammates’ backs. He has this city’s back. That’s much more than could be said about any of you standing before me.”

Steve let them stew for an uncomfortable amount of time before speaking again. “I have never seen a group of people so ungrateful before in my life. I will not be taking any questions.”

JARVIS flipped the channel. Tony was casually lounging on a talk show couch while Bucky sat attentive at the other end. The host tried to ask a question about how Tony felt about relying on a ‘disabled man’ to keep him safe, but was immediately cut off with a death stare from Bucky and Tony unbuttoning his shirt. 

“Mr. Stark…” 

“Until about a year ago, I had something like a pacemaker in my chest. New technology has allowed me to take it out, but for years, I had major cardiovascular problems. I was extremely prone to heart attacks. Was I ‘damaged goods’? Should I have not been allowed on the team?” Tony’s shirt was now open to reveal the extent of his chest scars. They were raised and red, wrapping all the way across his front and torso. “If I remember correctly, I saved your daughter from an arson attempt several years ago? How was I able to do that with my problems?”

“That’s not-“

“-the same? Yeah, it isn’t. People can live without their hearing. They can’t live without their hearts. And what about Winter here? He’s a war vet with a prosthetic. He’s taken down more Nazi’s than all of us combined. Is he ’too reliant on technology’?”

Bucky rolled up his sleeve to show off the metal arm. He didn’t enjoy press, but he was fine with sitting back and letting Tony do the talking. 

Tony pointed between himself and Bucky. “Can you explain why when we need technology to keep our hearts going or substitute our limbs or give us our hero abilities it’s an improvement, but when Hawkeye uses some hearing aids, he’s weak?”

The host opened his mouth to speak again. “Well…”

“No. No you can’t. That’s because it’s some ableist bullshit double standard. Every time one of you tells your children that Hawkeye isn’t good enough to be an Avenger because he’s deaf, you’re spreading harmful lies. You’re putting the rest of us on pedestals that are unreachable. We’re all human. Most of us are disabled in one way or another. Don’t be an asshole - it shouldn’t be that hard.” 

Bucky punctuated his sentence with a curt nod and then they both left. 

The screen went dark for a moment and then a video came on the screen. There was a time stamp dated earlier this morning.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Sam’s voice was clear as the video focused on a kid, probably in kindergarten. The kid shook his head and shyly hid his hands. 

“HE WANTS TO BE LIKE HAWKEYE” Another kid screeched and ran in front of the camera. “I WANT TO BE LIKE HAWKEYE TOO BUT I DON’T HAVE HEARING AIDS LIKE DANNY.” 

The first kid, presumably named Danny blushed and smiled. He seemed more confident with his friend and held up a drawing of a purple man with a boy. “He’s going to see this?”

“Scout’s honor. I’ll make sure Hawkeye sees it. He’s going to love it.” 

“Really?”

“Absolutely!”

There was a quick pause and then a cut to another group of children. Almost all of them were signing to each other or had hearing aids in. 

“Who’s your favorite superhero, besides the Falcon of course?” 

The kid looked offended. “Hawkeye is better than the Falcon. He’s the best.”

“But the Falcon can fly.”

“So can Hawkeye. He flies the plane.”

“Okay, then what about Captain America.”

“He can’t use a bow. Hawkeye can use a boy and shoot as guys from really really far away. I’m gonna be Hawkeye for Halloween and I already have my bow picked out.”

Another kid bathed into the screen. “If you’re really friends with Hawkeye, can you ask him to come instead of you next time?” 

“Hawkeye!” Children cheered from the background.

Clint wouldn’t admit to it, but by the end of all the videos of children, his eyes were watery. Seeing the stack of drawings of him, mostly wearing his hearing aids, set him over the edge. He felt so warm and fuzzy seeing his teammates stand up for him. For the first time since the mission, he genuinely smiled. 

After rewatching the clips a few more times, and writing notes to all the kids that he planned on hand-delivering, along with some free, signed Avengers merch of course, he finally had the appetite to stomach something and headed toward the kitchen for some food. Before he made it all the way, he was stopped by the sounds of laughter from the living room and the smell of pizza.

He was met with the sight of his whole team in pajamas with a giant stack of pizza boxes on the living room table. Natasha was fondly recounting a mission she had with Steve. “So, I finally explain to him what a flash drive is, and we grab both from the base and run. I guess Steve didn’t see me take the others and only thought there was one.” She took a second to get the giggles out of her system. “He’s standing in front of Fury and a million other SHIELD agents, ready to share the most important schematics we’ve every received from a HYDRA base. He clicks on the file. And then porn starts playing!” Natasha cackled. “And it’s this really kinky video and Steve is blushing like mad and trying to avert his eyes but he can’t turn it off.”

Everyone was laughing, even Steve, although he did still seem embarrassed about the whole thing. Clint snickered at the scene. 

“Look it’s Legolas. Grab a slice. We’re catching Buck up on modern Steve. Got anything to contribute?”

“Did you hear about the time he tried to go undercover at some billionaire’s party? Natasha was supposed to distract the man while Steve extracted the serums, but it turned out that Steve was the better distraction. But his flirting-it was bad.” Clint animatedly started his story, everyone already smiling in anticipation. 

Steve tried to defend himself but no one really listened as Tony dug up the old comm feed to hear the travesty first hand. Steve was still grinning though. 

They stayed up late telling stories. Bucky got his chance to tell stories about their fearless leader when he was a punk from the seventies. Bruce and Tony swapped science failures they’d witnessed the other do, usually due to not following safety protocols. Natasha knew things about everyone, and was able to push the line without crossing it. Bruce had even made double chocolate cookies that the team gobbled down while they were fresh and warm. Clint’s eyelids were drooping as he settled his head on a pillow. He was not far behind everyone who had already knocked out on the couch - everyone but Natasha who was curling up against his side. 

She tapped his side and he looked over at her. She gazed at him, respect evident in her features. She signed, 

“We’re glad you’re on the team. I’m glad you’re on the team. You’re part of our family and there's no backing out now.” 


	7. Sneezes (Peter Centric)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by lilkittenofdoom:
> 
> "Could you do a chapter of Peter getting sick and all of the avengers taking care of him?"

"Achoo" 

Peter jerked over his textbook and hid his face in his elbow as a sneeze racked through his body. 

"Are you getting sick?" Natasha looked up from her book to analyze Peter. 

"No. And aren't you supposed to say 'Bless You' when someone sneezes?"

"Would that make you feel better?" Natasha responded in a teasing tone. "Do you need me to invoke a higher power to keep you from dying of the plague?" 

Peter rolled his eyes, and was about to get back to work, but Bucky interrupted. "You're getting sick."

"I think I would know. It is my body." 

"Nope. I know sneezes, and that one was a sick one."

"You 'know sneezes'?" Natasha snorted in disbelief. "What kind of skill is that?"

"The kind you get when you live with a sickly bastard for a decade."

Peter huffed indignantly. "It's the made up kind. Now if you'll excuse me, your fake abilities and insults toward Steve are keeping me from doing my homework so I'm just going to excuse myself." 

Peter walked out the door just in time to hear Bucky claim it was an affectionate term.

"He is getting sick though. It was a snotty sneeze and his voice sounded off." Bucky remarked to Natasha as they both settled back into doing their own thing. 

\----------

Peter woke up achy and sweaty. His head hurt and he was extremely congested. He forced himself out of bed to use the bathroom, but even just doing that was awful. 

He should probably let someone know. He was going to need help getting food, even though the thought made him nauseous, and getting his homework to Ned. He glanced at the clock - 6:30AM. He only had three choices for this time of day and two of them would be smug as hell and he didn't want to deal with it. 

So he texted Steve. Less than ten minutes later, Steve knocked on Peter's door. He came in with a hot waterbottle, some medication, and a tray with hot tea, ginger ale, dry toast, and a sleeve of saltines. "How're you doing?"

"Probably about as well as I look." Peter sighed. "Thank you for the stuff."

"No problem. I didn't know what you normally take so I brought all of them. Do you need anything else?"

Steve was an absolute saint. He helped Peter choose some medication, having already known what the dosage for enhanced metabolism is, and agreed to make sure his schoolwork got turned in. He spoke softly about something or other until Peter dozed off again. 

—————

When Peter woke up, Tony was standing in the doorway speaking in a hushed tone.

“He doesn’t just get sick - he’s a superhero. We should run some tests.” 

There was a sigh from behind the door. “Tony, he’s almost an adult. You can ask him and May if they want any tests, but **do not** cause hysteria. This is just the common cold, maybe the flu.” 

“Did he get a flu shot this year? Do you think he has enough blankets? Spiders can’t thermoregulate you know.” 

“I didn’t know that, but also, he isn’t a spider. He just has spider powers. His immune system and thermoregulation may not have been affected - we haven’t seen signs of any differences so far. Plus, he’s awake so you can just ask him this stuff.”

“He’s awake? I knew it - he is cold.” Tony opened a cabinet and pulled out a heated blanket. He plugged it in and threw it over Peter. “How are you feeling? Do you need anything else? Did you get your flu shot?” 

“What?” Peter was still groggy and he was talking really fast. “I’m feeling sick.”

Tony was already lifting a bottle of water to Peter’s lips as he rapid-fired more questions. “Is there anything going around at school? Are you cold? Have you been sick since getting the spider bite?”

Steve waved as he walked across the doorway, clad in gym gear. Peter smiled and waved back. 

“Peter!”

“Ah, okay, okay. I don’t want to drink that: my throat hurts. I wasn’t cold, but the heated blanket can stay on. I don’t need anything, and I’ve been sick before. I didn’t get my flu shot: the line at the free clinic was way too long and I wanted to go out on patrol.”

“What did I tell you about ignoring your health? If healthcare costs are a problem I can get you on a plan. Avengers can have benefits too. Also, have you gotten sick _after_ the spider bite?”

“Yes, and it fixed itself with sleep - just like every other time.” Peter reached for his phone to check for notifications. 

“Would you mind if I just took a few -“

“-No. I’m really fine. Aren’t you supposed to be at a work meeting anyway?"

"It wasn't important."

"Are you sure because I heard Pepper remind you not to miss it like five times yesterday, and she seemed-"

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. You should go back to sleep."

"I'm really not tired. I'll probably just watch some TV." 

"Then we'll watch TV." Tony sat down on Peter's giant bed and made himself comfortable. "What do you want to see?"

For a few hours, Tony and Peter stayed cuddled up on the bed, watching comedy TV shows and making silly commentary the entire time. Peter did catch Tony secretly trying to take his temperature several times. And he was slowly adding more blankets on top of him. And Peter suspected he had JARVIS taking air samples through the vents and testing them for viruses and bacteria because he was Tony freaking Stark and also the ceiling was making a strange vacuum sound. Also, Tony definitely made way to much chicken soup. 

Natasha walked in just as Tony was putting the tray with the ridiculously oversized bowl on Peter's lap. She grabbed a spoon and tasted it, not bothering to hide her resulting wrinkled expression of disgust. 

"Just because it tastes bad doesn't mean it's good for him." She took a swing of water from one of the twenty fresh water bottles Tony had lined up on the nightstand. "It isn't medicine."

"Soup is good for sick people. Plus-" Tony took the spoon from her and tried his creation. He swallowed effortfully. "I should not have tried to make that from scratch. Kid, **do not** eat that soup." 

Natasha grabbed the tray off Peter's lap and handed it back to Tony. "Give me less than an hour. I picked up a recipe in Asia for a soup that does wonders for your immune system and tastes better."

"Honestly, anything will taste better than that." Tony mumbled under his breath. 

"We're making soup for Peter because he's sick?" Bucky entered the room. "I know a great one that Stevie's ma used to make. It always seemed to fix his problems."

"Yeah, but it's probably bland. Are you sure it isn't just boiled potatoes?"

"He's too stuffed up to even taste anything." Bucky defended his cooking.

Natasha rubbed the bridge of her nose. "First of all, Tony, you can't say anything with that inedible bowl of wet compost in your hands. And second, you're not helping your case James, but I'd be glad to see you try and make a better soup than me." 

Steve and Bruce had strolled past the door just at Natasha's speech and gave each other a look. 

"I heard you weren't feeling so good." Bruce looked Peter over sympathetically as Natasha and Bucky stormed out of the room, trash-talking the whole time. Tony was right on their heels, budged out by the two new additions to the room. 

Peter groaned and nodded.

Bruce extended his hand to hand Peter a little baggy. "I know your metabolism runs faster than even Steve and Bucky so I put together some pills tailored to your body so you can get enough vitamins and calories to heal quickly." He pulled out two pill bottles. "They're labeled and have instructions, but this one is a food supplement - it's not great for you, but it's better than nothing if you really can't eat. Take one a day if you're eating much less a day and two if you can't eat anything at all. This one is a multivitamin. Try one every other day and we'll see from there."

"Thank you." Peter was extremely grateful that Bruce took the time to make such a personalized form of care for him. "What's the last thing?"

There was still a bottle in the bag that Peter hadn't looked at yet. He reached inside to pull it out. "Is this...honey?" 

"Sometimes the best way is the old-fashioned way." Bruce shrugged. 

Peter nodded and let a spoonful slide down his throat.

"Oh, so when he says it you listen." Steve teased with his arms folded in mock offense. 

Bruce excused himself, busy with a different project for SHIELD that he had put off to engineer Peter's medication, not that he mentioned that. 

"Is Tony mother-henning?"

"Yes. He..." 

Peter and Steve laughed about the extremes Tony went to in taking care of Peter. Steve told Peter about the ways Bucky used to, and still does, do that to him. 

"But you gotta appreciate them for it. It really makes you feel loved." Steve added after his story about enforced bed rest after one tiny itsy bitsy broken rib incident. 

Peter blushed, but he agreed. The care may be a little overwhelming, but during times like these, he liked to imagine that Tony was his dad. 

Steve looked at Peter with a soft expression, almost like he could read his mind and was trying to show Peter that it was fine. 

Then Bucky slammed the door open and triumphantly held up a bowl. "I brought soup!"

"It wasn't a race you oaf." Tony chastised as he followed, a container of take-out soup from a five-star restaurant, that probably didn't normally do take out, in his hand "just in case". 

Natasha sauntered in confidently with her bowl as well. “Ready to feel better?” 

“You’re sure eating a lot of a ‘bland soup’.” Bucky smirked as Tony poured himself a second bowl of soup. 

“I haven’t eaten all day.” Tony defended. 

Bruce barely hid a scoff as he sipped his own soup - Natasha’s. Tony poked Peter’s shoulder, trying to push him into picking a winner, which he stoutly refused to do. 

Steve grinned from his spot, sitting cross-cross on the floor, and complimented Bucky’s soup. “All those hours of cooking shows are really paying off.” 

“You’ve always liked my food punk.” Bucky settled down next to Steve on the floor and began his third bowl of Natasha’s soup.

Peter grinned. “As long as it isn’t Mr. Stark’s.”

Natasha laughed and fist-bumped him before pulling up a chair next to Bruce.

Tony pretended to sulk for a moment, but shrugged and nodded. “That’s fair.” 

"So that's where you all went." Clint peeked his head into the room, taking in the people strewn all over the floor and furniture. "What's with all the bowls?"

Tony explained that Peter wasn't feeling well and they had made soup. "Was it Buck-" Clint switched the direction of his excited question when he saw Natasha's glare, "-Natasha's?! Her's is the best." 

"He was going to say mine!" Bucky shouted, standing up in triumph. 

"No he wasn't that was just because he was looking at you," Natasha retorted. "Or maybe because I don't cook as often. It has nothing to do with taste."

As the former Soviet spies once again devolved into childish bickering and trash talk, Steve and Bruce made a game out of throwing crumpled up napkins into the wastepaper basket in the corner of the room. Peter joined in, but whenever his was about to miss, he webbed it and slung it in. This rapidly devolved into a game that involved Peter using his webs to swing napkin balls around the room and Bucky using his knive(s) to slice them mid flight. Natasha may have been pelting him with things a bit harder than napkins to distract him. 

This seemed to give Clint an idea and he rushed out of the room and down the stairs. 

"For a spy, he's loud as fu-hell." Tony caught his tongue as he realized that Peter was still right next to him. Steve chuckled in agreement as he listened to the thumping from outside the room.

When Clint came back up, his arms completely full with a tower of games, Tony was desperately trying to get the superheroes in the room to stop competitively antagonizing each other and playing stupid, dangerous games. Every time Bucky got within five feet of Peter, Tony would instinctively move into a defensive position. Consequently, Steve and Peter shared a look. 

Bruce helped Clint set-up MarioKart so the team could get out some competitive energy and then left. "Call me if you need me okay?"

"Thanks Bruce!" 

"I wasn't talking to you Clint."

A napkin ball hit Bruce's back as he exited the room to head to his lab. 

Many, many games later, everyone had tired themselves out with the screaming and expressive gesturing that came with the game. Natasha and Bucky were knocked out, her head on his shoulder as he leaned against the bed from his spot on the floor. Tony was dozing next to Peter on the bed and Clint still had a controller in his hand as he snored from a nearby chair. 

When Peter's eyes blinked open, the room had been dimmed and everyone was still asleep, but with blankets draped over them. Steve was sitting on the floor with a large, smooth panel of wood. 

"Mr. Rogers?"

Steve glanced up and smiled reassuringly. "It's about five. Do you need anything?"

"I'm good. Don't think I can sleep anymore though. What are you doing?" Peter wiggled toward the edge of the bed to get a better look. 

"It's a puzzle." Steve tilted the box lid toward Peter so he could see the picture of a waterfall that Steve was putting together. "Would you like to join?" 

Peter nodded and picked up a few pieces. They worked for half an hour in comfortable silence - Peter's throat hurting too much for conversation. Slowly, Natasha woke up and joined in. Eventually, Clint and Bucky were piecing together the background scene because of their sharp eyes for tiny details. Tony was the last person to get up and see the nearly completed puzzle. 

“Good morning.” Clint remarked sarcastically.

“Jokes on you - with my sleep schedule it might as well be.” Tony groaned as he pushed himself into a sitting position on the bed. 

They watched a bit of TV before dispersing. “Are you sure you don’t need anything?” Tony asked for the umpteenth time as he stepped slowly toward the door. “Not too cold? Or hot? Or hungry? Or in pain? Or-“

“I’m fine. You can stay if you want though.” Peter said a bit shyly. He didn’t want Tony to neglect his work or anything. He really wasn’t that sick anymore. It would just be nice to have some company.

Tony grinned and slipped back into the bed. “Want to see my new design for the repulser?” He excitedly started explaining the mechanisms to Peter, who nodded and responded with equal enthusiasm. 

For hours, Peter and Tony stayed cuddled up near the headboard, looking at holograms and schematics. Suddenly, the lights flipped off and everything powered down. 

"JARVIS, what the hell?" Tony cursed, frustrated and slightly nervous.

"Ms. Romanoff has instructed me to limit your access to technology and 'put you to bed'. She reminds you that Peter is still sick and needs recovery." 

Tony slumped back, protests dying in his throat. He glanced over in the dark where Peter would be. "I guess it's time for bed." 

Peter laughed, but obediently leaned against Tony's leg as he closed his eyes. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Tony only meant to stick around for a few hours to make sure that Peter was sleeping well and that he wouldn't need any cough or decongestion medication. He wound up nodding off though.

\----------

"Achoo" Tony sneezed into his elbow before taking another sip of his coffee. "Is it cold in here?"

"Nope, you're just sick." Bucky answered from behind a giant stack of pancakes. 

"No I'm not." Tony contested. 

Natasha and Steve rolled their eyes. 

"Suit yourself." Bucky shrugged and then winked at Peter, who was standing in the doorway, before digging into his stack of pancakes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez, does anyone else feel just done with the quarter? All these midterms and projects are killing my free time and my social life.


	8. Security Footage (Peter/MJ)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SnowMione18 requested:
> 
> “Can you write another baby monitor footage one shot? And can the suit film something happening between Michelle and peter. Like them dancing or a first kiss or something. I would like to the see the avengers reaction to that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **It’s not exactly baby monitor, but I hope you like it!

"How was he able to get into the school and set up a gas bomb without anyone seeing him?" Steve asked as he surveyed the damage to Peter's school.

A villain, who thankfully didn't seem to know spider man's identity, had orchestrated a bomb of nonlethal knockout gas to go off in the air vents, causing chaos at Peter's school. During which, several smaller explosions went off and damaged school property - specifically the chemistry lab. Peter, who was unaffected by the gas, snuck out of the classroom to find help, and didn't see any suspicious persons running away. 

Now there were people in hazard suits trying to get rid of the gas and repair the damage. Steve and Bucky, being unaffected by the remaining fumes, had naturally agreed to assist. While they were there, they looked for clues. 

\----------

"It's strange. There was nothing." Steve complained as he scooped some of the remaining pasta into a bowl and joined the rest of the team in their living room. 

Tony glanced at Bucky for confirmation. He nodded.

Steve rolled his eyes. Tony trusted Natasha and Bucky way more for any spy work because 'they were actual spies'. He did this every time. 

"There was no one outside when I made it out either." Peter chimed in from his spot on the couch where he had been wrapped in blankets and given an unreasonable amount of snacks and water by a couple unnamed busybodies. 

Even Natasha seemed stumped. Why would someone seemingly attack a high school, but not cause any major harm? There was some mild property damage, but it mostly just seemed to be chemistry students' final lab projects. And what's the point is using knockout gas if you don't need to do something that no one can see. 

"Isn't your school a school for nerds?" Clint asked without any malice. "Wouldn't they have fancy equipment? Did he steal anything?"

"No, they didn't account for anything missing." Bruce shook his head as he scrolled through the report. 

"They do have fancy equipment." Tony snapped his fingers and stood up. 

"Yeah, that's what I just said." Clint groaned.

"No, they probably have security cameras." Natasha leveled a look at Tony as he pulled up a display and hacked into the school's database of cameras. 

"Man, they really have every inch of the place covered." Sam didn't seem exactly welcoming toward their security system, but there were bigger fish to fry at the moment. 

"Okay. So we don't know anything about when he got into the building. We're going to have to watch a lot of film." Natasha made herself comfortable.

"Do we all have to do this?" Clint moaned. "He literally could have come in anytime that week, including nights."

"Your skill is literally having a good eye." Bucky pushed Clint back into the recliner with his metal arm. 

"JARVIS scan for anytime before 5am and after 5pm." Tony commanded. "Anyone?"

"There appears to be no indication of any persons entering, exiting, or moving around during those time periods over the past week."

"Why can't he just do that for all the footage?"

"It's going to be nearly impossible to distinguish actually suspicious from teen angst in a hoodie without a human eye." Tony replied to Sam's question as he queued up the first day's worth. 

They had it going on a sped up rate, only pausing when someone found something in their dedicated quadrant. So far, there wasn't anything interesting - Peter was able to identify all the "suspects" as high schoolers, and he didn't think they had done it. 

"Hey" Natasha spoke up and Tony paused all the other screens and slowed down the ones in the gym area. "Look it's Peter dancing with Ned." 

"What?" 

Sam chuckled a bit under his breath as he took in the room of highschoolers awkwardly dancing with each other. "At least everyone is leaving room for Jesus." 

"This looks terrible. What is this?" Bucky looked at the screen in mild disgust. "The only person who looks even slightly content is that girl in the corner on her phone." 

"It's high school P.E. And it is terrible. I don't think anyone likes the dancing portion." Bruce shuddered. 

"But dancing is fun?" Bucky thought back to his memories of dance halls. 

"Not when you're fourteen and embarrassed all the time." 

Steve and Bucky shrugged at each other. Clint and Natasha already seemed to understand this, even having not attended high school. Tony understood being fourteen and embarrassed, but he didn't have to take PE in college. They watched for a few more moments before continuing. 

They were several hours and even more pots of coffee into their 'stakeout'. Every teenager was starting to look suspicious or stupid or both. 

"Are these meetings always so long?" Clint yawned as he watched Peter offer to help clean up after academic decathlon practice. "Ooo, it's the girl from PE.” 

\----------

On screen, MJ walked in with a sketchbook and said something to Peter, who looked mildly surprised. He waved and grinned in response. She seemed to be cracking sarcastic jokes as Peter stacked up the final chairs and swept the floor. She flashed a drawing of something at Peter, who acted offended and playfully pretended to swipe the book. MJ hid the book behind her back and stepped backward as Peter walked toward her. They came within the audio range of the camera. 

“-that you’re feeling better.”

“Thank you.” MJ smirked “I wish I could figure out what was causing these sudden illnesses.”

Peter rolled his eyes fondly. "The ones that only show up for PE and sometimes geometry?”

“Yeah. I must be a medical anomaly.” She laughed. “So what did I miss?”

Peter rethought his first instinct of reminding her that she was there, and instead went with, “Nothing much, just dancing. Murch had to leave us with a new teacher, Ms. Chang. She told us it was important to learn how to slow dance before homecoming.”

“That sounds important.”

“I don’t think it is. I mean the music usually isn’t exactly-“

MJ cut him off gently. “You never know. It might end up being really important.” She pulled Peter by the hand so he was standing close to her, hand on her hip. “Could you teach me?”

Peter’s eyes widened as he realized what was going on. He paused for an awkward amount of time, clearly trying to figure out what to do. 

Evidently, MJ took that as a yes, and she adjusted her arms closely around his neck after starting some appropriate music. Even though Peter was supposed to be teaching her, she was leading. Despite the general stiffness and the frequent glances away from each other’s eyes, the dance was fairly sweet - both teenagers were softly smiling as they swayed. 

“I’d like to dance with you at homecoming.” MJ hinted as she pulled away. “I’ve gotta run now though. I’m already late.”

“Bye.” Peter waved as she walked away, a giant grin on his face. As soon as she was out of sight, he sprinted away, definitely faster than any normal human could run, but no one seemed to catch that. A different camera showed his excitedly gesturing to Ned and Ned sagely giving advice about dating.

\----------

“Ooooo. Petey’s got a girlfriend.” Clint whooped from his chair. “And she’s pretty.” He dragged out the last word, seeming delighted by the blush that spread across the young man’s face. 

Natasha’s lips were curled in a slight half-smile. “I think I’ll like her.” 

Tony, with a proud smile, was already planning on where to get Peter’s suit for homecoming and debating if renting a limo was too over the top.

Steve clapped Peter on the back. 

“You’re already a better dancer than Stevie.” Bucky teased, and Sam pinched his right arm. 

Someone leaned forward to start all the tapes again so they wouldn’t literally be in the room forever, but Clint was still humming “Kiss the Girl” under his breath as they searched. 

By late in the evening, they had gotten a few leads, but nothing conclusive. There had been a conference at Peter’s school so there was an influx of unfamiliar students. It would have been easier for someone to sneak in this way. But, that also indicated that this person knew the school schedule well enough to plan this. 

“One person getting stuff out of their locker…another person getting stuff out of their locker…a third person getting stuff out of their locker…” Bucky grumbled, “Can I switch with someone? Literally no one goes to these outdoor lockers. Do we even need to watch this feed? There are only like ten of them.”

“A secluded area is all the more reason to watch. You should know that." Steve answered stoically. He watched his screen carefully, jotted down some notes, and then paused the feed. “We can switch though.” 

Bucky didn’t even take the time to freeze his before he wheeled his chair over to Steve’s spot. Steve pushed his stuff over to the other corner. 

“You could’ve just…” Tony rubbed the bridge of his nose. He swore that sometimes the super soldiers refused to use technology just to bother him. There was no way they still didn’t know how to just transfer the video.

There was a few minutes before Steve was hitting the rewind and slow down buttons. 

“Find something?” Natasha asked, looking away from her own screen. 

“Well, not exactly something related. Just something interesting.”

“Now something interesting decides to happen.” Bucky complained as the rest of the team curiously crowded around Steve’s monitor.

Natasha grinned when she saw the picture. “MJ’s her name, right?"

—————

“I asked them to move my locker out here.” MJ gestured at the metal attached to the school wall. “It’s more private.”

“Isn’t it cold in the winter though?” Peter couldn’t imagine trudging in the snow to get his books and coat. 

MJ shrugged. “There are places to keep my things if I need inside. I have lots of hiding spots.” 

Peter’s eyebrow rose, but he didn’t pursue. He was still unsure how to act around her now that he knew she maybe liked him back. “Hawaii?” 

He was referring to a volcano postcard and a book on ancient Hawaiian rituals in MJ’s locker.”

“My family and I went last summer.”

“That’s cool.” Peter racked his brain for something to say. “Did you drive?”

“…..”

Peter waited expectantly. After a bit of silence, he realized his mistake. “Um, I mean of course you didn’t drive: it’s an island.”

“Uh, yeah.” 

They stared at each other.

MJ broke the uncomfortable moment. “It seems as though you need some help. Maybe we could study together?”

“I’m not taking geography so I don’t think I need to study it. I know Hawaii is not an island. Is! Hawaii **is** an island.”

“Okay. Then I guess I’ll see you around?” MJ started to turn away, clearly feeling defeated.

“Wait. No.” Peter reached out to grab her shoulder lightly. “I didn’t mean. I wasn’t thinking before I spoke.”

MJ knowingly grinned at Peter’s fluster. 

“I’d like to study with you. I like spending time with you.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, I like you MJ.”

“I like you too.”

Peter’s face lit up. He smiled and she leaned a bit closer. 

“Can I kiss you?” Peter asked timidly, glancing at MJ’s lips.

She nodded with enthusiasm and tilted her head up. Peter moved his face close to hers and then

“Ow” MJ involuntarily took a step back and ran a tongue over her lip. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to-“ Peter was turning beat red, but he was cut off by MJ adjusting her head into a different position and kissing him. 

The bell rang and they both pulled apart. MJ squeezed Peter’s hand and promptly walked to her class. 

Peter stayed behind with a dazed look in his eyes. He eventually broke out of his fog and, “Ned?” Peter whispered harshly to a spot hidden to Steve’s camera. “How long have you been there?”

“For the whole thing.” Ned had a huge grin. “Congrats man. But we really have to get to math class.” 

Peter turned red, yet again, but he obediently followed his friend. 

—————

Tony had a hand over his mouth like he was trying not to make any emotional noises. He had already failed by ‘awwing’ when MJ kissed Peter. 

Natasha was feeling proud maternal feelings that she didn’t think she had and Bruce had a smile on his face. 

Sam was still laughing about the Hawaii thing, but he fist-bumped Peter, whose head was underneath the blanket because _no, he did not want to get relationship advice Bucky._ (He would later gratefully take Bucky’s relationship advice).

Steve, who had happily looked back at Peter several times near the end of the video, was trying to get Natasha off his back by pretending he had a strong desire to get back to the videos right away. She had started to suggest SHIELD agents to set him up with, which Clint had promptly jumped in on. 

Tony began to pick an argument with Bucky about giving relationship advice to Peter.

“I’m actually in a relationship. I can give better advice.”

“Give a man a few years to defrost, before the war, I dated plenty of dames. Plus, I still know chivalry - something you modern people don’t seem to understand.” 

“We have chivalry. I’m chivalrous.” 

Bruce and Natasha snorted simultaneously at Tony’s assertion. 

“What? I am. I am a great... well, okay I am a good…I love Pepper and she loves me.” Tony crossed his arms. “So I made her deal with all my one-night stands before we were dating, and maybe I don’t give good gifts or remember her allergies or tell her when I’m dying of metal poisoning or - Jesus H. Christ, JARVIS can we order a bouquet of flowers to send to Pepper tomorrow at work? She likes irises. What goes good with irises? Look for ones with lilies, oh, and hydrangeas. And lavender, she likes the smell.” Tony continued to ramble as he walked out the hallway, cellphone in hand to call his girlfriend.

“See?” Bucky’s cocky attitude replaced the background noise of Tony, who was currently professing his love to Pepper and attempting to get her to leave on a romantic vacation in a few weeks, “Checkmate.”

“Excuse me, as the only married Avenger, I think I’m the only one qualified to give advice.”

“While that’s logical,” Bruce’s eyebrows scrunched up, “taking relationship advice from Clint seems…”

“I have three kids!”

“Still…”

“Talk to me. I have the best advice.” Natasha spoke over Clint’s whining. Steve nodded in agreement, despite fighting yet another matchmaker attempt. 

“I’m also good at relationships.” Sam added, but it seemed more directed at Natasha, who ignored his wink, than anyone else.

Bruce took it in his own hands to restart everyone’s feeds and stop the nonsense.

—————

As it turns out, the bomber was someone from Peter’s school. 

“How does someone have the time, effort, and intelligence to pull something like that off to distract from his chemistry midterm, but not enough time to just study for the damn thing?” Tony fussed. “I wanted something more exciting.” 

Steve frowned disappointedly at Tony’s wish. “We don’t want violent villains to run around New York City. Just because -“

The rest of the team, who were in civilian clothes watching the arrest go down, tuned Steve’s newest lecture out. Even if it was possible Tony deserved it, it was still boring as hell. 

"So how did you ask MJ to homecoming?” Sam prompted. “It must not have been at school because we didn’t see it in the feeds, and when went up basically to yesterday.” 

“Yeah, I heard that now people ask others to school dances in elaborate ways.” Bucky perked up. “I’ve seen videos on instagram.” 

“Maybe he didn’t have a big ask.” Natasha defended. “It’s not a necessity you know. I’m sure lots of people prefer to be asked in more subtle or intimate ways.” 

They gazed at Peter, who suddenly seemed to fixate on the position of his feet. “I haven’t exactly asked her yet.”

“Isn’t the dance coming up pretty soon?” Sam clarified. 

“Yeah, but I'm just nervous about it.”

“She was clearly giving you signs. Who would ask for a dance if they weren’t planning on saying yes if you asked? Let’s plan it now, while the police are questioning this dumbass.” Clint seemed excited as he jerked his thumb over at the teenager being sat on the sidewalk in cuffs. 

———

Because inactive Avengers were bored Avengers, an elaborate ask became an _elaborate_ ask. Clint planned a serious of clues which Natasha snuck into MJ’s favorite café, record store, thrift shop, and park. Tony used his connections to section off a part of the park for Peter’s private use, and he got May to tell MJ to clear up her Saturday. He also dropped a bit of cash on some surprises. Steve helped Peter design and decorate a beautiful sign, and Sam took care of the date the scavenger hunt would end in. 

And that’s how MJ ended up ended up being handed a coffee on the house, along with a new high-end sketchbook and pencils, at her favorite coffeehouse on Saturday morning. A clue on her napkin lead her to the music store, with some of the records she’d mentioned wanting wrapped up with a bow and her name on it at the front desk. The tag on the ribbon led her to the thrift store, where she changed into an outfit Peter, with some help, had chosen. Finally, she was led to the park, where Peter stood with a sign and a prepared picnic. 

“Yes, of course I’ll go to homecoming with you!” 

Peter picked her up and spun her around. Neither of them noticed the bug that Natasha had put on a nearby tree so the team could watch it all play out. 

—————

A few weeks later, when the Avengers got a call from Peter’s school, which had still been on high alert, which indicated that the teenager wasn’t working alone, they made sure to get all of the threats. And if Tony carefully cut a part of the video, where MJ revealed that she knew Peter was Spiderman and let him kiss her while he was upside-down behind the school, out of the final report, but saved it on his personal files for the memories, would Nick Fury be any the wiser? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is staying safe and INSIDE during these chaotic times. I've been self-quarantined for thirteen days now - just trying not to go crazy.


	9. Zoom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My quarantine take on the field trip trope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope that everyone is safe and healthy right now. Please stay home, and please take care of yourselves mentally.

“This is it! This is the best one yet!” Peter exclaimed excitedly as he took his second bite of the strawberry crepe. 

“You say that every time.” Sam teased, but it was clear that he was happy for the compliment.

Steve nodded in agreement with Peter as he scarfed down his food. Bucky refused to say anything nice, but he was on his second plate already. Tony moaned about how all the cooking and baking was going to “ruin his figure.”

“I think that would be the sitting on your ass all day.” Natasha quipped.

“No. I sit on my ass all day all the time. I just usually don’t eat this much. It’s all Sam’s fault - I’m telling you.”

Bruce rolled his eyes. “Not eating all day isn’t healthy Tony.”

“What do you want me to do all day?” Sam asked. “It’s not like we have many options.”

“I have given you guys a whole damn tower. What do you mean not many options?”

“Well,” Bucky answered, “It’s more like half a tower since the first forty floors are being used as medical centers, quarantine rooms, and housing for the homeless. And the offices in forty through fifty five are just boring.” 

“But we’re very grateful to be able to stay here. It is much nicer than everyone else has and we are all safe and healthy.” Natasha reminded them that their quarantine situation was objectively the best anyone could have. Stark Tower had a pool, several labs, an extensive gym facility, a rooftop garden, multiple kitchens, an art studio, and drones to get anything the team could possibly need. 

“That’s right. If you’re all so bored, let’s do a team workout. It’ll help you keep your figure too, Tony.” Steve suggested with a smile on his face.

“I said I was getting fat, not bored.” Tony retorted.

“Ooo, I’m Tony Stark. I’m not bored because I make my own toys all day in my secret lair.” Bucky spoke with a slightly higher pitch for no apparent reason. “I’m too scared to spar because the Winter Solider is stronger than my fancy clothes.”

“Did you just call my suit ‘clothes’?” Tony looked offended. “I made your arm and I can take it away.”

“Try me.”

“You stupid asshole.” Tony ran at Bucky but was stopped by the leg he extended from his chair. 

Steve’s eyes went upward in an expression of exasperation. He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “God help us.”

Natasha glanced around at the table. “We really do need a way to get some energy out. Team spar in one hour.” 

“Just wait till I’ve got the suit.” Tony smirked as he left the table. 

One by one, the other Avengers cleared out too. 

Clint, who had just made it in time for Natasha’s pronouncement, poured himself some coffee. He had extreme bed head going on and he still seemed a little bit groggy. 

“You good?” Bruce asked, concerned as he studied the archer’s features.

“It’s his fault.” He gestured at Peter. “Spidey made me play Animal Crossing.”

“I _showed_ you Animal Crossing. I didn’t make you play it until-“

“-The time is unimportant. You gonna suit up and get ready to spar?”

“I have class in an hour and a half so I won’t have time. I’m just going to work on homework until then.”

Bruce and Clint nodded and went back to their morning routines in comfortable silence. 

—————

Peter distractedly clicked through email after email as he waited for the Zoom meeting to start up. _Thanks for the information_ **every business I’ve ever interacted with,** _but yes, I do know about coronavirus. Who gets their public health tips from Chipotle anyway?_

The teacher finally started the meeting. And then immediately unmuted everyone on accident. There was a chorus of dogs barking, conversations with parents, chewing, and one very distinct low sound that Peter couldn’t place. The teacher demanded that everyone immediately remute themselves, but several people took the chaos as an opportunity to change their background photos or flip themselves upside down. While the teacher was busy chastising individual students and trying to figure out why the screen kept freezing, Peter got notification that he received a private chat.

“What’s up Penis?”

Peter ignored it. Flash was being an idiot, as always. He wrote a message to Ned about all the chaos that was going on.

Another ping. 

This time it was Ned. “At least you’re in Stark’s tower. That’s gotta be like the coolest thing ever!! You’re quarantined with freaking Iron Man - can you believe it?”

Peter smiled. “It’s crazy. Did you know Hawkeye is obsessed with Animal Crossing now?”

There was another message from Flash waiting. “That seems like a pretty large couch for two people. Is that why you’re so poor? Your aunt wastes money on unnecessary stuff?”

Peter ignored him again and copied the message for Ned to see with the eye roll emoji. "He tries too hard.”

It still stung though. Insulting him was one thing. Insulting May was another. 

Peter chewed on his lip in worry. His aunt was working longer shifts than usual at the hospital and worried about her. Even though he had an enhanced immune system, she didn’t want to risk it, and so she asked Tony if he could stay in the tower so she could quarantine themselves. They still facetimed every day, and Tony sent plenty of supplies to the hospital she was at. But New York City was one of the worst spots for the outbreak, and she was in the thick of it. Peter hated that there wasn’t anything he could do besides stay home. 

“He’s an asshole.” - Ned.

“How’s your aunt?” That was MJ. Peter had been getting closer to her recently and he was hoping spring semester would be his semester. He would ask her to prom and spent time at grad night with her and all that. Apparently not. But he still warmed at the message.

“She’s doing well. Not sick. The shifts are wearing her down a bit though.”

“I can imagine. Send her my thanks. I hope you’re doing well?”

“Yep. All good. You and your family?”

MJ gave a response about how all of her family members were doing right as Peter’s teacher straightened everything out. 

“Okay class, I know things have been a little chaotic, but remember, your essays are still due on…” 

Peter tapped a pencil on the edge of his table as he listened to his teacher lecture. English was definitely not his favorite subject. His conversation with Flash kept growing, but he still had yet to respond. That seemed to be aggravating Flash even more if the aggressiveness of his messages was anything to go off of. Peter started to zone out. 

Suddenly, his computer started making notification noises out of control. The main chat was blowing up and MJ, Ned, and Flash were sending him multiple private messages. 

Flash even sent him one chastising him for inserting footage of Captain America from a battle as his background image.

He looked at the latest message in the whole class chat. “IS THAT CAPTAIN AMERICA?"

Then he looked behind him. Sure enough there was Steve in the Captain America uniform with his shield in hand. He was blocking an assault of Clint’s arrows. 

“STEVE.”

Steve looked at Peter with his eyebrow raised. “What?” 

“Tony peaked around the corner. “His whole class can see your star spangled ass.”

“Poetry.” Bucky remarked as Sam facepalmed and Clint burst out laughing. 

“Wait? Isn’t that just a video of your teacher? I didn’t know she could actually see you. Can she hear us?”

“No, I’m muted.”

“How did you not know that people can see you through the screen? We use that technology on missions all the time.” Sam wondered.

“I thought that was Stark technology. Or SHIELD technology. Not like something regular old schools could do.” Steve rose his hands in a defensive position. “I’m really sorry Peter.”

“Don’t worry about it. Now I’ve just got to figure out a way to fix this. Got anything?”

Steve unmuted the screen. “I am truly sorry Ma’am. I did not mean to interrupt your class or disturb the learning environment.” 

Peter’s teacher blushed. 

“Aww she’s got the hots for you. Is this English? I love English!” Clint excitedly rambled about the book that Peter’s teacher was holding up. “Is that Robin Hood?”

“Hey, Steve and I read that one in the twenties. I swear I thought Stevie was trying to be Robin Hood the way he picked fights with rich people all the time.”

“Guys, I have not muted the microphone yet. And you’re all in the screen.” Peter complained in a hushed tone. 

Before he could reach for the computer, Tony grabbed it and pointed it toward himself. He stepped out of the suit and put on his paparazzi smile. “Hi, there, please excuse Peter for the interruption. It really wasn’t his fault. He was interning for me when this whole shelter-in-place thing went into effect and he wanted to continue his project. We decided he could stay here with me while his lovely aunt was out being a hero and helping the sick. Gotta be as cautious as we can, right?” Tony winked. “Anyway, it’s not his fault Spangles doesn’t quite grasp modern technology yet. You can return to what you’re doing.” 

Clint’s voice was audible in the background. “So now we don’t have to avoid this area so Peter can do his classes, right? Because this is like right in the way of the path to the kitchen.”

“You just had breakfast.” Sam pointed out. 

“Plus, you have other ways of getting there.” Natasha looked toward the ceiling.

“I just had _coffee."_ Clint corrected. “Now it’s time for some good old-fashioned hot dogs.”

Natasha wrinkled her nose. “Out of all the food in this house… It’s 11 in the morning.”

"That’s lunch time. Want any?" He looked at the super soldiers because no matter how recently they had just eaten, they could somehow always still eat. 

Peter finally muted the mic, but class was pretty much over. The teacher wouldn’t have been able to get the classes attention if she tried. Peter’s chat messages were blowing up, and he tried to answer some questions vaguely. He gave MJ and Ned most of his attention though. He wouldn’t deny that he was enjoying the look of shock on Flash’s face and the way a “no fucking way - the internship is real?” Slipped out of his mouth. 

Five minutes later, the entire school knew that he was quarantined with the Avengers at Tony Stark’s home. People who had never even looked his way were messaging him on social media platforms like they were his best friend. He still had several more classes left, but most of them got derailed by questions about the Avengers or people freaking out because the Falcon just walked past in the background. 

The team changed out of their suits, but they were bored, and apparently, Peter’s classes were entertaining. 

Steve and Bucky both watched Peter’s history teacher talk about World War II. The poor man seemed incredibly nervous and sweaty. He ended up asking Steve and Bucky for their experiences. Steve gave a good patriotic response with factual details from the war. Bucky just added fuel to the chaotic fire by telling battle stories or about the dumb stuff his battalion did to pass the time. They did manage to get it together enough to give a harrowing reminder of why war was a terrible thing to be avoided at all costs though. 

Clint sat in for Peter’s PE class and showed that, for whatever reason, he was extremely flexible and ridiculously talented at pilates. He also managed to make the background a photo of a collage of screenshots from all of Steve’s PSA videos, and then a picture of himself with the caption “Hawkeye is the greatest Avenger of all time.” 

Tony stole Peter’s computer and showed off some of the nonclassified stuff in his lab for physics. The robots proudly showed off their skills for the class and did ’tricks’ for Peter. He also showed some non-Avengers related computer code that Peter was working on and went on to praise Peter for how smart he was and how valuable he was to his team. It went on for an embarrassingly long amount of time. Peter was overjoyed about his hero talking about him that way, but his face was beet red by the end of the speech. Flash was speechless. Peter immediately became the coolest kid in the entire school.

Sam joined in for psychology, and answered questions about common illnesses he saw in veterans. 

Bucky came back for Spanish, where he continued telling outrageous stories, just in Spanish. Apparently he loved the limelight. Or maybe just pissing Steve off. 

By the end of the day, Peter was drained. He didn’t think he had learned anything. He spent the whole day trying to keep the Avengers from doing dangerous or stupid stuff to show off to his classmates. “How do you keep these guys in check Mr. Rogers?” He groaned from his slumped position on the couch. 

Steve just grinned. “Do I though?”

Sam punched him lightly on the back. “You absolutely do not. Who put you in charge? You’re literally the most reckless of anyone. Also, can you stop half-assing this - there is onion skin in the skillet.” 

“I’m sure it’s edible.”

“That doesn’t mean I want to eat it.” 

“That doesn’t mean I want to eat it.” Bucky mimicked in a stupid tone of voice. 

“Watch yourself or you aren’t eating any dinner.” Sam scolded. 

“Oh really, you want to do this again. Need a reminder of who won in our sparring match earlier?” Bucky stood up and Steve pushed him back in the chair. 

“Is this some kind of divine punishment for all those fights when I was younger? Is this what watching me was like?”

“Yep, this is payback. Except I can actually hurt birdbrain.” Bucky smirked over Steve’s shoulder at Sam, who flexed. 

Peter just closed his eyes. At least quarantine wasn’t boring. 


	10. 5 Times the Avengers Found Out Peter Parker Could Sing + 1 Time they Already Knew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @SnowMione18 requested: 
> 
> Can you do a one shot about the avengers team finding out that Peter can sing or something? Like they catch him singing in the music room, and he is amazing. They then confront him about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure I really captured the vibe of the prompt, especially with number one - sorry. The only thing on my brainstorm was "tony freaks the fuck out," and then I got high and wrote number one so I felt like I had to finish the next morning. 
> 
> Also, I couldn't really get a feel for what kind of music Peter would like/listen too/sing so, except for Steve's, I left the details a little blank. Feel free to tell me what you think he'd be singing in each situation though: I'm kind of curious.

One of the only memories Peter still had of his mother was her singing. She would sing beautifully and loudly, audible through the shower walls. She would sing to him comfortingly as he laid in bed. She would sing excitedly as Peter’s father twirled her round in the living room. She even hummed happily as she did household chores. 

When Aunt May and Uncle Ben took him in, Aunt May would try to sing him to sleep in an effort to ease his pain. Even though her voice was not nearly as practiced and smooth, she tried her hardest once she saw Peter sobbing into his pillow over missing his mother’s voice. 

And Peter sang with her. It made them feel close to his mother. May would always run her fingers through his hair and tell him how his voice was as lovely as his mother’s. Even while he was doing schoolwork, he would involuntarily strike up a tune over his desk. Secretly, he sang while he flung around the city. The exhilaration made the music burst from his chest, freer than ever. The wind erased the sound from prying ears, leaving only his raw emotions and the New York skyline.

So when he started spending more time with the Avengers, it was bound to come up:

1\. 

It was the eve of the anniversary of his parents death. Peter sat in the cushioned nook, pressing his face against the cold glass pane of the bay window. 

He never knew how to handle the day. He felt sad, but it was nothing like the consuming sorrow that overcame him when Ben’s death date came around. He was too young to remember his parents too well, but he felt incredibly guilty that he could be sad and functional on the day that he died. What kind of son wasn’t a sobbing mess on the date of their parents death? 

He sang to the New York lights below him, melancholic stories of his sins confessed to the uncritical void of the city. 

Bruce had been working late in the lab when he heard the sound of singing from the floor above. He paused his procedure to stop and listen for a while, moved by the intense sentiment weaves into the melody. It was so vulnerable and open, so sad. It made Bruce’s heart pain in sympathy and understanding. 

He listened intently as he climbed the stairway, assuming that the music was something Steve or Bucky had left on before heading to bed. It was clearly different from Tony’s rock, and the spy twins were more headphones type of people. 

When he reached the hallway, he stilled. That voice was not a recording - it was Peter. 

Bruce held his place several feet away, deciding whether or not to alert Peter to his presence. The moment seemed intimate so he stayed where he was, enchanted by Peter’s song. Eventually, the teenager noticed him. 

“Bruce? I didn’t think anyone else would be up so late.”

“That’s your first mistake. Never expect anything about the sleep schedules of everyone living in this tower. They’re never as predictable as you’d think.” Bruce tried to joke, but it sounded strained and out of place.

Peter smiled but it was weak and faded quickly. 

“Having trouble sleeping?”

Peter nodded solemnly. 

“Do you want to talk about it, be distracted from it, or just sit with some company?”

Peter appreciated the gesture more than he could express. “I’m probably going to be up for a while. Are you sure you want to-?”

Bruce just took a seat next to Peter by the window and leaned against part of the wall. They sat there for a while, just staring at the lights, 

“My parents died today.” Peter whispered as the clock struck three. 

Bruce looked at the kid empathetically, realizing what this was about. 

“I was too young to remember much that well, but I remember being woken up at 5:23 in the morning by Aunt May and Uncle Ben in the hallway. They didn’t mean to wake me up. They were trying to be quiet, but May was sobbing and Uncle Ben’s reassurances weren’t quiet enough. I didn’t know what had happened, but I knew that something was wrong. I couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night.” Peter’s breath shuddered. “Then, later in the day, they sat me down. I pretended not to notice Aunt May’s red puffy eyes or the empty look in Uncle Ben’s eyes. I tried to convince myself that everything was fine….and then they told me my parents had passed away in a plane crash and I just…”

Bruce grabbed a blanket from a nearby cabinet and pulled it over the both of them even though he knew the shivering wasn’t because of the cold. He pulled Peter into a hug, feeling a telling wet spot grow against his shoulder.

Peter’s voice was garbled and muffled against Bruce, but it didn’t matter. Hearing the story wasn’t important. Telling it was. 

“I can’t even remember them that well. I have flashes of my parents dancing in the living room or sitting around the tree at Christmas or saying goodbye before leaving me at my aunt and uncle’s, but every year, I think I lose them a little bit more. “ Peter pulled away for a moment and looked up at Bruce with genuine fear in his eyes. “I don’t want to lose them.”

Bruce rubbed Peter’s back as he cried. 

“I don’t want to lose my mother either.” Bruce muttered, almost involuntarily. 

Peter moved slightly to indicate he was listening. 

“My father was abusive. He…he killed my mother when I was six.” Bruce paused as he struggled to calm himself down. “I saw the whole thing. He was committed afterward, but I will never forgive him for what he did. But whenever I think of her, the anger towards him threatens to burst. I don’t want her memories to be tainted or wiped clean because of him. She doesn’t deserve that. But sometimes I can’t separate them.” 

Peter squeezed Bruce tighter as the older man’s voice wobbled. They stayed that way until 5:23, when a fresh round of tears flowed from Peter. He cried for a couple hours until he passed out from pure exhaustion. Bruce worried that he hadn’t eaten in the previous day, but he could understand why, He carried Peter to his room and tucked him into bed. 

For the rest of the day, Bruce acted a little strangely. He blocked Tony from going to Peter’s room in the morning to ask if he wanted to go to the lab. He didn’t let Steve or Bucky mention team training. Natasha seemed to know something and instinctually gave the teenager space except for bringing him meals or sitting on the edge of his bed and looking through photo albums with him. Clint’s prank was immediately caught and dismantled. 

2\. 

The next time an Avenger caught him singing, it was in the kitchen. Peter was dancing around the kitchen as he sang an upbeat song and assembled his sandwich. He spun around with the tomato and the knife in his hand when he noticed Bucky standing near the entrance grinning. 

Peter blushed and pulled his headphones to his neck. There had been a mission alarm earlier, so Peter had assumed that everyone would be out. Apparently they didn’t need the Winter Solider or Spiderman for this one.

“Don’t stop on my account. You sound good.”

Peter smiled bashfully at the compliment. 

“What’s that song called? I’m still catching up on new music. Though that stuff that Tony listens to is garbage.”

Peter snorted and showed Bucky the name of the track on his phone. Eventually, they got into a discussion about what music should put on his list, and how to use Spotify. The conversation quickly devolved into Peter belting out his favorite songs and Bucky dancing with him in the communal floor of the tower. 

By the time the others had returned, they saw Peter and Bucky lying on the couch, sweaty and laughing their heads off. 

Between giggles, Peter managed to speak. “Bucky…he thinks your music is trash Mr. Stark.”

Tony dramatically made his expression seem offended, although he was clearly cracking at the sight of Peter and Bucky having so much fun. “Why did I ever let another one of you senior citizens into my house? Don’t appreciate good taste.” 

Steve rolled his eyes and smiled at his best friend. 

Peter and Bucky continued joking and making each other laugh while everyone else cleaned up.

“You’re gonna have to show me more some other day kid. I feel like there is a lot more to catch up on.”

Peter beamed, he nearly overflowed with excitement at spending so much time with one of his heroes. Bucky and Peter became very close friends as they set aside a day each week for Peter to show Bucky modern music and other pop culture. Even Ned joined in sometimes. And both men liked to hear Peter sing. 

3\. 

Clapping and cheering erupted from the other side of the wall. Voices that were distinctly Natasha’s and Clint’s screamed “encore” and wolf-whistled.

Peter froze for a moment. He had forgotten that people could actually hear him in the showers at the tower. He quickly dressed himself and stepped out of the bathroom. 

“Damn, Peter. You’ve been holding out on us the whole time, you can sing.” Clint laughed excitedly. “The Amazing Spiderman can sing too?”

A proud expression had crept across Natasha’s face as she nodded in agreement with Clint. “Another one?”

“No, I can’t. In front of you guys? That’s just…I’m not that good.”

“Please.” Clint pleaded and tried to convince him to sing again. “You are that good.”

With a lot of persuasion, Peter nervously started to sing again. After he finished, he was met with more excessive cheering and clapping from the spies. Bucky heard the noise and joined in the excitement. The three agents managed to get Peter to put on a personal concert for them, animatedly encouraging him the entire time. 

As he got more confident that they weren’t just being nice, Peter switched it up and tried different genres. After he couldn’t sing anymore, Natasha found him. “Clint wasn’t kidding you know. Your voice is amazing. I haven’t seen Bucky have that much fun in a while either, heard he used to really love music.” She hugged him. “You know I dance too?”

“Really?!” 

She nodded. “Ballet.” 

“Can I watch you sometime?”

“Only if I get to hear you sing again.” 

Peter absolutely radiated happiness and she pulled him into a little side hug. She was glad he had a hobby to channel his energy into, something that he truly enjoyed. Natasha knew better than anyone that having something like that to buffer you from the lows of life made a world of a difference. 

4\. 

Steve was walking back from the gym when he heard noises from Peter’s room. The door was wide open so he had a clear shot of Peter twirling a broom around and loudly singing a track from the end of Come from Away. 

“Have you given up on cleaning?” Steve asked with a smirk.”Because I don’t think you’re getting much dirt that way.”

Peter set the broom down, trying to think of the best way to minimize the emotional damage from Captain America hearing his fake Canadian accent. 

“Don’t worry. I thought you sounded awesome.” Steve grinned. “I like musicals too.”

Peter’s face must have noticeably conveyed his shock. 

“Yeah, I actually volunteer at that community theater down the street sometimes. Definitely not on stage: I had enough of that during the war, but I like to help them make set pieces and paint backdrops.”

“And they know you’re Captain America?” Peter was trying to imagine Steve backstage with a bunch of actors assembling props. 

“Well, I’m only a Captain when we’re fighting. Right, Spiderman?” Steve gave him a pointed look. “But yeah, they know. The shock wears off after a bit.” 

Peter didn’t know about that, but he enthusiastically asked Steve why he decided to get involved in a theater. He attentively listened to Steve talk about painting and stared with wonder at the room full of artwork that Steve had in the tower. He nearly lost his mind with excitement when he saw that Spiderman was in some of the drawings.

He couldn’t contain himself when Steve complimented his singing and suggested he audition for a musical or a recital of some kind. He even gave him a flyer with the season at the theater he volunteered at, and promised that if Peter was ever in a musical, he would help with the sets.

5.

At this point, Peter had pretty much forgotten that not everyone knew about his singing. So when Tony and Pepper exited the elevator and caught him trying out different songs for his audition, he didn’t stop the song. 

They both stayed, stacks of paperwork in hand, until he finished. Pepper clapped appropriately and showered him with praise. 

Tony, on the other hand, was loud and dramatic. “Spidey, you can sing?” He gushed over Peter’s voice and excitedly told him he wanted to listen to another song. When he learned that Peter was considering auditioning for a play, he immediately offered to build a music room, and a recording studio. He also offered to get him new clothes for the audition and to sponsor whatever theater Peter wanted to perform at. Pepper patted his back and pulled him back to earth, seeing that he was probably overwhelming the teen just a little. 

“I think you sounded amazing honey.” She smiled “You’ll definitely get whatever part you’re looking at.” 

She went back to work after that, but Tony stayed, settling on the couch to watch with pride as Peter went through all his potential songs and giving him opinions on which ones he liked best. 

+1

Peter wiped his sweaty palms against the front of his pants and peaked out from around the curtain. There were a lot of people out there. He scanned the audience, quickly making eye contact with Natasha who smiled and nodded encouragingly. Steve and Tony were intently reading a program while Clint and Bucky split a package of M&M’s with Pepper clearly trying to remind them not to do anything stupid. Bruce seemed a bit uncomfortable, most likely feeling all the eyes on them from within the crowd. 

He closed the curtain. He smiled at all the intricate hand-painted set pieces lined up for the stage. The producers and the cast had not only been shocked when Tony Stark offered to pay for the rights to any plays and for any necessary costumes and props, but when Captain America came to paint all of the pieces.

He could do this.

—————

The cheering that erupted from the crowd as Peter took a bow was deafening. And it wasn’t just from the Avengers, the crowd loved him. Some people were even giving him a standing ovation. He felt like he could cry in happiness.

Once he came down to the lobby, he was surrounded. Tony loudly complimented him over and over. Bucky and Clint talked about which song of his was their favorite and how much they liked his costume. Bruce stood away from the madness, but gave him a discreet thumbs up and a smile from the wall. Steve patted his back and suggested they frame the program, which Tony immediately lit up at. May gave him a bear hug and handed him a bouquet of flowers. 

“Your parents would have loved this.” She whispered in his ear as she squeezed him tight. “Ben too.”

He was filled with warmth all throughout the fancy dinner, and despite the embarrassment he felt, he was actually very happy when he learned that Tony had hired a professional to film the whole thing so he could have a copy forever.


	11. Anorexic (Natasha Centric)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> EstefaniaNicole123 requested:
> 
> Could you write one about Natasha being anorexic and the others helping her going through?

Natasha sashayed out of the building, a widow’s bite in one hand and a smirk on her face. She dragged an agent on the ground behind her. The only way this could be more stereotypically action star-equse would be if the luxurious mansion behind her exploded as she made her escape.

Clint was cheering in her earpiece, and Steve sincerely congratulated her before telling Barton to cool it on jamming up the communicators. 

When she got into their intel van which, courtesy of Stark, looked like a shitty white technician van on the outside but was extremely comfortable and high tech inside, she tossed the HYDRA agent onto the couch and slumped down herself. “I did most of the work on that one boys, I’m not driving.”

“I’m on it.” Clint hopped out of the back so he could walk around to the driver’s seat. Steve was already typing up a mission report and splicing together important footage from the night. After getting back to SHIELD and debriefing, they made their way back to the tower. All of them were still pretty full of adrenaline and excitement: the mission had been short and easy. Nothing had hitched at all and no fights had broken out.

Tony took one look at them and the resulting smile nearly split his face. “It’s time to party.” That seemed about right. Although Tony wasn’t as good at reading emotions as the spies, or Sam’s therapy sight, or even Steve with his ability to be more in tune with details, he could always tell when it was time to get wild.

This was definitely one of those times. Within the hour, Tony, Steve, Natasha, and Clint were dressed to the nines and getting into one of Tony’s exorbitantly expensive cars. They were ushered into some exclusive club and given the VIP treatment. Champagne in hand, it was time for the Avengers to party.

Clint, who was surprisingly a lightweight, got sloshed very soon after he exchanged his drink for shots of tequila. Natasha watched fondly as he shocked people with his ability to do strange bar tricks with a rubber band slingshot, while being unable to actually stay seated on the stool. Even in the midst of falling to the ground, yet again, he managed to get the top off of the beer bottle. A crowd was starting to form around him. 

Tony was living his best life in the center of the dance floor. As per usual, his charisma and reputation drew quite the following. Despite not flirting or planning to go home with anyone, he was still enjoying himself. He’d bribed the DJ to play almost all hard rock and was jamming. 

Steve wasn’t much of a dancer, but he seemed to be having a good time with the handsome man near the wall. Natasha could see the blush grow on his cheeks as the man flirted with him and he tried to flirt back. She grinned at how innocent he reacted, no matter what he’d seen or done. 

Then she felt a presence behind her. Turning, she saw a man, attractive but giving off a douchey vibe, wink at her. Her skin prickled. His expression screamed ‘I’m going to buy you a drink and expect something in return’. Before he could even get the question out, she shot him a death glare. She’d been trained to be intimidating, and this time, it paid off. The man slunk back to his gross friends.

There were definitely times when the glare didn’t work. Men thought she was playing hard to get, or genuinely could not seem to interpret the signs that the woman in front of them was uninterested. And sure enough, when she looked up, Steve was looking back, one eyebrow raised in a silent question.

She subtly flashed him the ‘okay’ sign and he went back to the man in front of him, who quickly moved into the making out stage - which Steve seemed to be more than okay with. The first time they’d been at the bar, a similar situation had arisen, and immediately Steve had stepped in to help Natasha. She explained that she appreciated the gesture, but she could defend herself, and it peeved her a bit when men made her a damsel in distress. 

Since then, they’d figured it out. Worrying was just in Steve’s nature, and, especially after binge-watching Dateline with Sam, he still liked to check on Natasha when creepy men were around ,even if she could kill them with one hand behind her back and knew how to avoid poisons. She was still his teammate. To be fair, he was about two minutes from abandoning his date to grab Clint, who was currently boasting that he could juggle fire. He probably could, but Steve didn’t want to see it happen. 

She was just about to abandon her spot to join Tony on the floor when a conversation got her attention. 

“Bitch is probably a slut anyway. Her red hair’s probably fake too. Just an attention whore.” The man who had tried to hit on her loudly complained to his friends, who nodded and agreed.

“Right? Where do these women get off dressing like that and being so choosy about their men. That’s why they always end up going for assholes instead of nice guys like us.”

“She isn’t even that pretty. I like a real woman - small and graceful. I mean, just look at those back muscles. Men don’t want a woman like that. Get out of the gym and go back to the kitchen if you really want to be attractive.”

Natasha sighed and downed one last shot before grabbing Tony’s hand and letting him spin her around to some song. 

The rest of the evening was a short-lived blur. It ended with Steve carrying Clint bridal style as he incoherently belted out what was probably a song. Tony was relatively sober, more mature with the alcohol than he used to be, and he was telling JARVIS to record Clint for tomorrow morning. He also slipped in a command for his bots to bring Clint coffee, water, and some aspirin, as well as keep the black-out blinds pulled shut. She was a bit clumsy on her feet, but she made it to her room, occasionally grabbing one of Steve’s arms as he walked her up. 

When she flopped on the bed, she felt simultaneously so tired, and also wide awake. The men’s words replayed in her mind and something in the pit of her stomach throbbed. 

“Too muscular,” she whispered into the night air. 

She was attractive, she knew that. She’d seen the ’30 day Black Widow Workout Challenges’ online despite never releasing any information like that. She’d see all the pictures from fans of her body on posters in their rooms, or her as their screensaver, or her as a tattoo. People had even messaged her saying that she was their ‘celebrity freebie’ Comment sections under Avengers’ videos were full of adoration, jealousy, and pure horny filth about her.

But emotion ran deeper than logic. And deeper than emotion, ran KGB training. Maybe it was the alcohol, but her insecurities bubbled closer to the surface tonight, and hearing that man say he was not into her stung. If she was not pretty, she was worthless. Her spy skills were incredible, but what made her truly exceptional were the honeypot missions she was able to conduct. The Red Room had drilled this into her.

Men could get very far in espionage missions, but women could have the same discipline and skill set with the addition of sex appeal and seduction. She had been trained to read emotions, to flirt effectively, to dress in an appealing fashion. Her trainers had given her personal ‘lessons’ on how to please men in bed for undercover missions. Hearing that man and his friends insult her had triggered something within her, and in this state, she didn’t have the mental capacity to fight back. 

The next morning, she stood in front of the mirror, in her underwear. Maybe she had bulked up? Being a part of the Avengers had killed parts of her that the KGB had built. She had people and things that were more important than missions. She had a life that included hobbies and free time. She worked out with Steve lifting weights instead of doing ballet till she fell unconscious. 

When she came downstairs, Tony wolf-whistled. “There’s our good little spider. Congratulations on the mission.” 

Clint winced at the sound and Steve rose his mug in support. 

“Want some breakfast?” Steve gestured toward the skilled which was filled with an egg scramble. There were hashbrowns sitting on a pan on the other side of the stovetop and a fresh put of coffee on the counter.

She was a little hungry, but it wasn’t bad. She pretended that the thought of food made her nauseous. She shook her head: “Too hungover for greasy foods. I’ll grab something later.” 

Steve nodded in understanding and didn’t bat an eye when she announced she wanted to go on a walk for some fresh air. If there was one thing Natasha could do, it was wear a mask. As soon as she left the building, she started jogging. She ran for nearly four hours before giving herself time to cool off and appear more collected.

“That was a long walk.” Clint observed when she came back, snaking on popcorn as a movie played on the TV. 

“I stopped for food.”

“And you didn’t get me any? I’m hurt.” Clint whined, not even glancing away from the screen. 

From that day forward, there were many days in a row where she didn’t eat anything. She had "eaten a late lunch” or was “practicing her cooking skills” in her personal kitchen. She just "didn’t feel like burgers right now.”

Clint seemed to notice something was going on. Considering they normally went out for lunch at least once a week, it was suspicious when Natasha suddenly couldn’t make time. She ended up given in some weeks just so he wouldn’t ask so many questions, but she ate the bare minimum. She had considered purging, but figured that the downfalls in dental health would render the whole thing useless. Dentures and yellow teeth didn’t have much sex appeal. 

Steve had appreciated her increased vigor in exercising at first, but then he started to see the dark circles under her eyes and the slight grayish hue to her skin. He had pulled her aside several times to remind her that he was always there for her. He even broke his general no swearing pattern: “Nightmares are a bitch. I’m always here if you need to talk, or we can get Sam."

The final straw came during a fight in Manhattan. The fight had only lasted about two hours, but the giant beetles were resilient. It had taken effort and strategy to lead them away from the city and pierce their shells. The final strike was a combination of an aerial strike from Hawkeye, Captain America’s shield, Spiderman’s webs and Black Widow’s bites. As the bug fell, Natasha crumpled to the floor. She faintly heard Clint’s voice as she failed to grasp onto consciousness.

Tony scooped Natasha up and quickly flew her straight to the tower, where he had JARVIS assemble the usual team of medical staff. Peter swung behind him and arrived seconds later than Ironman. The doctors still have about five minutes till they got there. 

Tony had laid Natasha down on a large comfortable bed next to all the equipment. He started talking to himself as he often did when he got nervous. 

“Are beetles venomous or poisonous? Could she have gotten something in her mouth or under the skin? Did she take a serious hit that no one saw? Is she internally bleeding? Could it be that…” He continued scanning Natasha, trying to find something that could help. She was stripped down to her under-suit which was short sleeves and shorts, but there was still no sign of injuries.

“Mr. Stark, when did Ms. Romanov lose so much weight?”

Tony’s head snapped to Peter with a look of surprise. “What?”

“Well, I haven’t seen her in a month, but she’s much thinner than she was before, and she looks sick, but not like in a battle injury way.” 

Then Tony really took the time to examine Natasha. She appeared tiny and frail, descriptions that he had never applied to the Black Widow in his life. He had seen her every day, and hadn’t noticed the changes. She seemed fine. A little more reserved than normal, but she was still doing trainings, maybe even…more than normal. Tony’s face fell as he started to connect the dots.

Peter, of course, noticed the change in his mentor’s demeanor instantly, and worriedly scared Natasha again. “What is it?”

The doctors rushed through the door just at that moment, sparring Tony from voicing his concerns in front of the teenager. One of them asked Peter to leave, needing the extra space in the room. With the kid gone, Tony started to talk. 

“I think she might have an eating disorder.” 

One of the doctors nodded as he examined her. They did all the usual scans and tests, but nothing too unusual came up. Once they had ruled out other injuries and illnesses, the only thing left that fix was anorexia. And considering the signs of strain they’d seen on her organs and the malnourishment, it wasn’t an unfounded diagnosis. 

Natasha was still groggy when she woke up. The first thing that came into focus was Clint’s relieved face as he stood over her. But before she could even process that, she happened to glance at the IV bag. That was full of glucose. Full of calories. She grimaced. She didn’t want to think like that, but now she felt like she needed to get the IV out as soon as possible. 

Clint recognized panic, even if he didn’t know what it stemmed from, and he calmly talked her down. He explained that the mission had been completed and everyone was safe and healthy. She felt a stab of guilt that her team’s safety hadn’t been her first thought, but was brought back down by Clint’s calm reassurance. 

Everyone came and checked in on her. They all seemed pleased that she was conscious again. Visiting hours weren’t very long, and soon she was left alone with Clint again. 

“Tasha” Clint’s face became more serious. He was purposely exposing all the emotions on his face, trying to make her more comfortable with whatever news he was about to reveal. “The doctors told us you were malnourished.”

Natasha instantly thought of a thousand lies, but by the look on his face, she knew Clint had seen it for what it was. He avoided speaking the word into existence, but it was evident it was gnawing at him. She just stared forward. 

Clint sat on the corner of her bed. “JARVIS gave us information about eating disorders while we were waiting, but I don’t know if your situation could exactly be compared to anyone else.” His face morphed to concern. “I was so worried about you, and I’m so ashamed that I didn’t take the signs for what they were earlier. I should’ve talked to -“

Natasha violently shook her head. “No, it’s my fault. I just can’t...”

Clint frowned. “It’s definitely not your fault. You’re the strongest person I know, so if you’re struggling it’s obviously something ridiculously tough. I can’t promise that I’ll understand, but I’m here whenever or if you want to talk about it.”

Natasha nodded and flashed him a weak smile. She wasn’t ready to talk yet, but she felt an inexplicable sense of relief that someone knew her secret. 

Clint seemed satisfied and reached down to the floor. He brought up a brown paper bag with a grin. “I brought the Barton care package!” 

This had become a tradition. Whenever either of them got hurt, the other would stay in their room while they got better, usually letting them get away with more than they typically would. The usual spread, puzzles, new spy teach that Clint ’stole’ from Tony, green smoothie drinks, and peanut butter crackers was laid out on the table. Clint complained about it, but he still queued up the next episode of Natasha’s favorite TV show. 

They spent the rest of the night playing games and resting. Clint didn’t make any comments about how little Natasha ate. 

When she was cleared to go back to the residential portion of the tower, she was met with cheers and hugs and smiles. The let her settle in and played video games and joked around. Natasha was having fun, but she was still tense. There was still that voice in her head telling her that she needed to workout to make up for the time she spent in bed.

She didn’t think anyone had noticed, but when she and Tony went to the kitchen to clean the beer that had been spilled off her shoulder. He leant over the sink next to her and said in a hushed tone, “It’s okay to relax. You deserve to relax.”

Her instinct was to brush him off, but she effortfully suppressed that urge. She did want to get better. She knew this was illogical, and as painful as it was to admit, she didn’t think she could beat it alone. That didn’t mean she was ready to be vulnerable enough to admit that. 

“After Ultron, I couldn’t leave the lab for days on end. I knew that it was all my fault and I thought it was my job to create something, nonviolent, to make things better. Some advancement in medicine or transportation or pollution control or something that could save as many lives as I’d taken. I felt like no matter what I did, it ended in mass amounts of death. I knew it wasn’t, but somehow that thought couldn’t override the action. Pepper helped me feel better.” Tony pulled the dishtowel to wipe himself off and then handed it to her. “I still go down there and binge build sometimes. And I get anxiety attacks. But I’ve been able to keep it in control.”

Natasha nodded. She repeated ‘it’s okay to relax’ in her mind. It didn’t feel like her mood changed much, but by the last round of poker, she was surprised to realize that she was completely relaxed. 

Sam dropped off a pamphlet of therapists who were well-versed in eating disorders. At the top of the list were professionals who specialized in abuse victims or veterans. There was a handwritten note at the bottom:

’No one will force you to do anything, so it’s your decision whether or not to go, but I think talking to someone would help. Remember, It’s not failure if it doesn’t work on the first try or if you wind up disliking one of the therapists. I’m always willing to go with you and wait in the waiting room. I believe in you.” 

In addition to a short summary of each person, there was a bunch of identification information - to make background checks easier. She smiled at the gesture and got into researching these people. It wasn’t for a few weeks that she started seeing someone, but Sam came with her and stayed the whole time. 

She started working out with Steve again, more conscientious of stopping when she felt overtaxed. Critiquing his form was much more entertaining than walking around the city alone anyway. He gulped down water, chest heaving as she sat across from him, unwrapping her hands. She made an offhand comment about how all the punching bags he’d destroyed in this century were probably worth more than her life. 

He instantly frowned. “That’s not true. You’re worth more than any material thing. You’re worth more than any KGB or HYDRA agent. You’re worth more than any injury or disorder."

Her tone had conveyed a jokingly self-deprecating mood, but Steve had responded in such a serious way that she almost felt like she was going to cry. 

Bruce had started inviting her to help him make team meals ever so often. Maybe it was the chemistry background, but he was actually a really good cook, and his travels to developing countries meant he knew how to prepare a variety of interesting dishes. He was a patient teacher, and even though she had been skeptical at first, he didn’t pressure her to eat. Sometimes he would taste it and express his pleasure, offering some to her, and his eyes would light up whenever she ate, but if she declined, he respected it. Soon enough, she found herself ’sneaking’ tastes all on her own. Their were cooking sessions where she managed to look at the food with excitement and not just as a caloric numerical value. 

As with everyone on the team, Bruce suffered from personal demons in his mind. He was easy to talk to and empathetic about the way Natasha felt, and the casual setting made it easier to admit the things that she feared had a hold over her. One day, she scarfed down a whole naan bread, and Bruce practically beamed. 

“I’m really so proud of you.” 

She grinned and felt the shame being replaced with warm feelings of comfort and community. 

When Peter came to visit again, he excitedly took her to the park and pointed out the ducks he had named. Apparently he had saved them from a drunk man who nearly staggered onto the nest, and had arrived just in time to see all of them hatch. As he animatedly explained, May had been upset when he got home late, but she couldn’t stay mad when he told her the story. Much like May, Natasha was laughing at the end: it was such a Peter thing to do.

“Oh, ice cream.” Peter noticed a cart from the bench they were sitting at and rushed over to the man, getting two cones. 

When Natasha saw him coming back with both hands full, her stomach fell. She wasn’t sure she was up to a whole ice cream, desserts were still hard for her, but she didn’t want to disappoint Peter. He must’ve noticed because he smiled and spoke up. “Oh, did you want one? Very bold of you to assume that I didn’t buy both of these for myself - I’m a growing spider.”

The pressure was lifted and she felt some relief. Peter let her “taste” his second ice cream as much as she wanted, but true to his word, he finished whatever she didn’t eat. 

She relapsed for three days after she had indulged in cheesecake one weekend, and she was terrified about the team finding out. But when Steve noticed, he could almost see the insecurity radiating off her as she hunched her shoulders in failure, he just offered her some of her ’safe’ foods, mostly celery and melons. He sat with her while she ate and told her hilarious stories about his time traveling with a chorus line in the thirties. When she was as full as she could handle, and thoroughly amused, he slipped her something from his sketchbook. 

It was a drawing of her, poised for fighting with a determined look in her eyes. Alongside the drawing were the words: “We’re a team. We aren’t going anywhere.” 

She hung it in her room as a reminder when she was feeling down. 

And life continued. They fought the bad guys and sometimes each other. They stayed in, they went out, they vacationed. It took a while, but with the support of her team, Natasha was able to find her normal without sacrificing her mental or physical health.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while. Quarantine and midterms and just life in general have really got me having daily crises. 
> 
> Or maybe it's just the fact that I accidentally ate dairy and my stomach is definitely trying to kill me?
> 
> Thanks for all the comments you guys!! You have no idea how much I smile after every single notification! They really make my day!!


	12. Just a Note

Hi, guys, 

So if you noticed, I took a little break from writing for a while. I plan on being back now and I will continue to work on your requests. Quite a few comments and requests have built up since I’ve been gone, but I will try to respond and find all the requests! It will probably take a while though. 

First of all, thank you guys for all the comments and stuff. They literally make my day to read, and it’s crazy to me that people are still reading this stuff even though I wasn’t posting new chapters. 

But to address something that I think is important to me really quick. The world is crazy right now. I started my break because I had finals and family members were hospitalized and it continued because what happened in Minnesota horrified (but not shocked) me. 

As someone who is white in America, I’m afraid that I’ve been complicit in a system of oppression for too long. I was never overtly racist (as far as I know), and I generally supported social justice movements, but these past months have allowed me to reflect. I’ve been more vocal with my family and more tangible with my methods of protest.

Protests are still going on. The number of people may have shrunk but you have to keep fighting for change. It doesn’t happen in an hour or a few days. If you don’t want to go out in person - email. Email your city council members and local police about their practices, which can be easily found at #8Can’tWait. Local government is much easier to overwhelm than you think, and even a few lines of a unique email that they can’t filter out does wonders. 

Wear your masks. Anyone who doesn’t is just showing that they don’t care about other people.

If you think that these statements are political, then you can leave. People’s lives are not political. This is basic empathy. I’m not getting paid for this, I write these for fun. Likes and comments are incredible, but I don’t need them from people who can’t find it in themselves to care about their fellow human beings. 

We all make mistakes. And even if you don’t hate ____race, if you’re white, you’re still benefiting from a system that benefits you. You can discuss this with me if you want. It’s not the job of any BIPOC person to inform you, but as a white person - I’m willing to discuss and possibly help correct what is entirely a white issue. 

If you idolize someone like Tony Stark for turning away from a life of weapons and to vigilante justice separate from the government, but don’t stand up against the militarization of the price and the ridiculous military policies the US has - then you should reevaluate yourself. If you don’t appreciate the change from extreme wealth to someone more generous - then you’re missing the point. If you think that it’s cool he’s inventing clean energy, but don’t take steps at home to correct yourself, and not support business that are contributing to environmental injustice and environmental racism then your missing the point. 

I could go on with the other Avengers, but honestly, I’d rather write fanfics. 

And I, of all people, know how fun it is to delve into fantasy land with your favorite character, BUT if you can’t see why you admire these characters or see why we like these characters (for the complex traits not just the fun violence and explosions) then you aren’t growing or reflecting as a person. 

Social justice is not just a May/June 2020 issue. It wasn’t just another bad thing from 2020. It’s an ongoing issue that needs to be addressed, and as someone with privilege, it’s not something that I can remain silent about with my friends or at work or even with my Trump-loving family. 

Be kind. 


	13. Vaccine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Tony Stark deals with quarantine.

Saibest2000 recommended this Tumblr post (username was cut off so I’m not sure if I’m allowed to do this):

  
“I like to think about the Avengers and what they would be like under quarantine, and then I realize that quarantine wouldn’t last that long. Not because of the arguing and fighting, of course that would happen. But because after a week, the rest of them would have driven Tony to the brink of a mental breakdown that he just locks himself for a few hours and be just emerges shouted “Alright, quarantine’s over, I cured it, get the hell out of my building.” And he just jabs them with a vaccine he perfected.”

Tony slumped over his workbench in defeat. The continuous thumping had finally driven him mad. Somehow, even with his rock music blaring, the sounds of two super soldiers and their endless energy was audible.

Just two weeks ago, the Avengers had gathered in New York for a intense mission, and afterwards, Tony had allowed them to crash at his tower for post-mission recovery and relaxation. They all had floors available, but typically they dispersed to their own homes across the world in times of peace. Their mission had been so deep undercover in an underground HYDRA base, that when they returned, they had not kept up with the news - NYC was on lockdown.

It was strict lockdown. Driving was limited for emergency vehicles. People were encouraged to stay inside to prevent air pollution from exacerbating respiratory conditions. No one was leaving unless they had a valid reason.

Of course, Tony could’ve used his power and influence to fly them home in private planes, but Pepper had encouraged the team to not set a bad example: enough people were being stupid and reckless already - they didn’t need another excuse. So Tony invited them for an extended stay. They’d spent large amounts of time together before in missions and even during the pre- and post-mission periods. Why not?

Tony cringed as something crashed seemingly right above him. He had been wrong. There were so many reasons why not. The most pertinent being that Steve and Bucky were like untrained puppies. At their apartment in DC, they ran laps around the city and worked out in special government training. Here, they couldn’t go outside because they didn’t want to role model dangerous behavior or attract large crowds.

So they found creative ways to work out in the tower. Tony offered them a treadmill and some free weights, but they immediately grew bored. Soon enough their were makeshift obstacle courses and parkour set-ups throughout the tower.

And they weren’t just one or two hours - they were long and sometimes multiple times a day. Tony pinched the top of his nose remembering, wishing he hadn’t invited a military boot camp into his home.

And that was just a fraction of the noise.

There was the constant music from Clint trying to perfect Tik Tok dances that Peter showed him, and noise from Clint mentoring Peter in “circus business” as he called it.

Peter had already been webbing all over the hallways and the common rooms. With Clint’s instruction, it became a modified trapeze. Juggling was harder because his hands were sticking. It was hard to be mad at the kid because he was so excited, but damn, was it annoying to walk into the kitchen half awake and see a teenage boy swing past you, narrowly missing your head.

Even though they lived together, Sam would wear his wings and extend them to knock someone in the name of social distancing. He thought it was hilarious. Tony, with an imprint on his shoulder, did not.

Bruce was probably the smartest of them all. After watching the news, and all the idiots protesting the stay at home orders, he took to meditating in his room to keep from Hulking out.

Clint’s hair had been dyed purple in a drunk accident that happened sometime between 3 and 4 in the morning because time didn’t seem to exist anymore.

Tony swore that Natasha and Bucky were going to kill him by causing a heart attack because of the way they were acting. Natasha testing her new makeup and disguise skills as well as finding undiscovered hiding holes around corners. Bucky learned to detach most of his arm and control it remotely. Peter admitted you nearly peeing himself the first time he saw it race past him to grab a soda from the fridge while the man himself remained planted in his room watching TV.

And even watching the TV wasn’t that simple. There was a lot of screaming at the TV. And Steve was hooked on documentaries that made him furious. It always started with “you’d think by now...” and continue on for hours about systemic racism or the illusion of choice in capitalism or pedagogical masking or the environment or treatment of the LBGTQIA+ community or whatever else he’d learned that day.

And often the screen was filled with Peter against some obscure background zooming in from another part of the tower for the game “guess what floor I’m on.” It was extremely difficult given that he could stick himself to walls and ceilings at weird angles. Also he kept giving Tony scares by going outside on the 90th floor.

It wasn’t all bad. He’d definitely bonded with the team members a bit. It was sweet to see Sam so soft and kind while teaching Natasha to cook and bake - something the Red Room has not valued. Or the way Bucky and Peter got along fantastically. Bruce was a soothing person to be around and Clint provided comic relief, when the pranks weren’t directed at him.

Tony now knew, through an accidentally run in with the super soliders at 2am, that Steve and Bucky got nightmares and panicked too. Recently, Bucky had been extra stressed because of the remanent memories about worrying if Steve would survive the influenza epidemic. It was a weight off all of their shoulders to talk about some of their issues. And Tony was able to recommend people and places to get help.

Clint helped Tony and Peter with a project that required placing robots in the air ducts and they all had fun working together.

But the last straw was when Tony caught Clint, entirely naked, on his balcony because Peter had lowered him down “spy style” but the webbing has caught to his clothes and ripped them.

“Let me in.”

“That’s it!” Tony flung open the glass balcony door, and then stomped down to the lab.

Everyone in the kitchen saw him, but they just shrugged, not wanting to get in the middle of that mess.

In several hours, the group was lounging around eating pizza. Tony finally emerged from his lab, hair frazzled and covered in stains.

“The hermit has emerged. Watch carefully now as he crawls out of his cave for food - it’s a rare occasion” Clint mimicked documentary narrators while looking straight at Tony.

“You need to get out of my building. Go to a restaurant or park or movie or whatever. I’ll pay for your hotel rooms.”

“Are you okay?” Natasha glanced at Tony, questioning expression apparent on her face. “We’re in quarantine - we can’t do any of that.”

“Not anymore. I cured it.”

“You what?” Steve asked, just as Clint yelped in pain because Tony stuck him with the needle.

“You’re now virus free. There’s a vaccine on the way too. I’ve already commissioned government regulators to review and labs to mass produce it and I’ve funded the cost for every American to get one. Pandemic over.” Tony grabbed a new syringe from a tray and filled it. “We’re a good team but you need to get the hell out of my personal space.”

“Shit.” Peter offered up his arm. “Is this because we replaced all the pictures of you and Pepper with pictures of Pepper and that one vigilante man from Florida? The one who claimed he had the superpower to listen to Mother Nature through the wind but was actually just tripping. Or is it because Bucky and Steve keep smoking weed in the house? Or because Natasha uses your shower because it has nicer settings? Or-“

Sam clasped his hand over Peter’s mouth “Christ kid. What the hell are you doing?”

Tony’s jaw dropped. He was speechless. “My shower? Weed?” He spun around to see Pepper kissing an impressive photoshop of “nature man”.

When he turned back around, all of the Avengers were making a mad dash to the stairs.

Clint saluted him. “Bye man. Thanks for the place to stay. Had a blast. See you next time the word’s in danger.”

Tony just flopped on the couch and got the first uninterrupted sleep he’s had in a while. 


	14. Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ninjazz requested: 
> 
> "One where Tony is injured (or poisoned I leave imagination up to the writer) so critically Peter's blood is the only cure.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”   
  
“I’m fine mother” Tony scoffed. "It was merely a little scrape.”  
  
Steve hesitantly looked at his partner, but refrained from saying anything else. They had just returned from the coastline of an island that had appeared out of nowhere. When it appeared on the radar, geologists couldn’t explain it and the military saw a suspicious heat signature from the center, so Captain America and Iron Man had been dispatched to check it out.  
  
As it turns out, some character from space had turned up and used unfathomable technology to pull magma from the sea and forge his own island, which he stocked with plant life forms from his own planet.  
  
He had come to colonize Earth because his planet had become over-crowded and Earth had a suitable atmosphere.   
  
Steve and Tony had managed to take him down effectively, but not before Tony was cut by a razor sharp fern-looking potted plant.  
  
“You should’ve been more careful.” Steve lectures as he bandaged up Tony’s arm on the ship back home.  
  
“I was in an Iron Suit. How was I supposed to know their plants would be like that?” Tony used his other arm to improve SI tech schematics while he waited.  
  
“It’s alien. You never know what to expect. That’s why you have to be careful.”   
  
Tony rolled his eyes and Steve didn’t press, this truly wasn’t that reckless. It really did just look like a potted houseplant.   
  
Plus, Steve had a few nicks near his ankle as well.  
  
By the time they got back, all either of them wanted to do was pass out.   
  
“Mr. Rogers!” A bright light burned Steve’s eyes through his eyelids and woke him up in a second. The military had conditioned him to be alert whenever needed.  
  
In front of him was Dr. Cho and a nurse, who had already started rolling up Steve’s sweatpants.  
  
“Ma’am?” Steve questioningly looked at the doctor.   
  
“Did you get cut by the same plant as Tony?” She asked curtly.  
  
“I did. By my ankle and around my calf.” Steve answered directly, waiting for some kind of explanation.  
  
“Tony woke up thirty minutes ago with his arm feeling like it was burning. There was dead flesh surrounding the wound, and since he came to me, the area has only increased.” She leaned in to examine his cuts. “I believe that the oils on the plant leaves are mimicking some kind of blood inhibiting substance that’s beginning to eat through his flesh. It appears as though it tried to do the same for you, but the serum stopped it - see this faint line?” She tapped on his leg with the back of her pen for the nurse to see.  
  
“The serum is fighting it off.” Steve repeated.  
  
“It seems as though your self-healing abilities stop the alien toxin from spreading.” Dr. Cho spun around to head back to the medical wing, Steve and the nurse on her heels.  
  
Tony was lying on a bed surrounded by medical professionals, but also a few scientists taking samples to try and create an antidote.  
  
As soon as Steve got there, one of them motioned to take his blood and he obeyed.  
  
“A blood transfusion would probably work, but Tony is A- and you’re O+ which would kill him.” Dr. Cho mumbled, then addressed the room. “I know we don’t usually deal with Mr. Roger’s blood for fear of it getting out or a recreation of the serum, but we need to isolate the self-healing component as fast as possible to save Mr. Stark.”   
  
Everyone rushed off, but Steve saw the defeated look on Dr. Cho’s face. There was no way for a science experiment on that scale to finish up in time at the rapid rate the “infection” was spreading.  
  
“What if-“ Cho jumped as Natasha emerged from whatever well-concealed corner she had been on, “we took the spider’s blood.”  
  
“Peter?”   
  
“He’s O-. Universal donor. And he has self-healing abilities.”   
  
“How did you know that?” Steve looked at her in disbelief for a second before remembering who he was talking to. He then sprung up and grabbed the keys to his bike.   
  
Within ten minutes, Peter was in the room, clad in pajamas and with bed hair. “What’s happening?”  
  
“Steve didn’t tell you?” Cho sounded surprised. Peter has been very compliant in letting her push him into a chair and start taking his blood. She had assumed he knew the situation.  
  
“He said there wasn’t much time and that they needed me but the suit was unnecessary.” Peter shrugged. “I mean, when Captain America says you got to do something, what other choice are you going to make?”   
  
Cho grinned. Ever since Tony had introduced the team to Peter, everyone had enjoyed having him around. For all his shitty past, he was the least complicated Avenger, willing to go with the flow and actually use somewhat healthy coping mechanisms. But her smile only lasted a moment before she explained the situation.  
  
She only took a few vials of blood, they wanted to at least run a few preliminary tests before doing the entire transfusion.  
  
While they were waiting, Peter snuck into Tony’s room. His arm, from mid bicep to wrist, looked gnarly. The skin was sloughing off in chunks. Peter winced in sympathy pain at the sight.  
  
“What are you doing here kid?” Tony didn’t seem to know that Peter had been brought to the building. He was clearly trying to mask any negative emotion in his voice.  
  
“I’m here to help you. The doctors want me to-“   
  
Tony’s eyes widened. “You don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to. Or more specifically, that will harm you.”   
  
“It’s just giving blood.” Peter forced a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, obviously trying to avoid looking at the damage to Tony’s arm. “I would do much more if you ever needed it.”  
  
Tony suddenly clenched up and winced.  
  
“Mr. Stark, are you alright?” Peter instinctually grabbed Tony’s shoulders, but removed his grip as soon as he realized he was making it worse. “Sorry, sorry.”   
  
Peter continued to look over Tony with concern until the older man managed to grit out his reassurances that he was ~mostly~ fine.   
  
“It’s -“  
  
“Don’t say it’s fine.” Peter frantically ran to the hallway to find the doctor testing his blood.   
  
She was in the lab, as predicted. “It should be another thirty minutes.”  
  
“He doesn’t have thirty minutes!” Peter yelled, uncharacteristically, “he’s-he’s dying in there.”  
  
“If we don’t test there’s a chance that the enhancements could kill him anyway.” She continued pipetting blood into more tubes to test.  
  
Not a minute later, her pager went off. She glanced at it and then quickly grabbed Peter’s arm and rushed him to Tony’s room.   
  
Tony was seizing. Three doctors were checking his vitals and his arm to see if there was any hope.  
  
A chair was rolled in and Peter sat down. The nurse prepped to take his blood.   
  
“Usually, we’d collect it in a bag and then administer it too him, but the infection has spread much faster than we thought and at this rate, that might not be enough.”  
  
Tears were already streaming down Peter’s face, but the admittance that his mentor might not be okay was crushing him.  
  
“There is a way to speed up the blood donation with this pump, but it’s more dangerous for you.”   
  
“I’ll do it.”   
  
The nurse quickly explained the risks and Peter consented. The blood started draining from him.  
  
He started...  
  
He started to feel a little dizzy.  
  
All he could hear was blood rush past his ears.   
  
His eyesight was all grainy and he just wanted to throw up or go to sleep.  
  
He knew the doctor told him to tell them when he felt unwell. But Tony still looked so pale. He could stand this for a couple more minutes.  
  
He’d just lean his head back and close his eyes for a few seconds.  
  
When he opened his eyes, there was only one doctor and Tony was gone. He was in a whole different room all together.  
  
He tried to sit up but was immediately stopped by an incredible headache. The doctor spoke calmly and gently laid him back in bed. “Tony is going to be fine. You saved his life. You should have told us what was happening though. You gave everyone a scare when you collapsed on the floor.”  
  
Peter felt relieves that Tony was safe, but guilty about passing out. “I didn’t detract from his care?” A bit scared of the answer.  
  
Another voice answered. “No, you don’t have anything to feel bad about. You saved Tony’s life. He’s going to be as good as new.”   
  
Peter looked over to see his aunt, and smiled. Her eyes were red from worry, but she managed to smile back and give him a hug.  
  
She nodded and left the room, explaining and apologizing that she still had to get to work.   
  
“I have some water and snacks. You’ll need to stay in bed for at least four hours. Would you like anything else?”   
  
Peter flipped his head back around, but apparently it was too fast and the pounding in his head intensified. He groaned and held his head.  
  
Unfortunately, Tony had just woken up, and, upon learning what had happened, busted out of his room to see Peter groaning, curled in, and grabbing his head.   
  
“Peter?!” He exclaimed and rushed to the boys side.   
  
A parade of doctors and other Avengers and Pepper and Rhodey followed in, chastising Tony for getting up. Either adrenaline or super blood had allowed him to get past all of them in the beginning, which also seemed to indicate him getting better, but they still didn’t appreciate it.  
  
“You’re okay Mr. Stark!” Peter straightened out and smiled.  
  
Tony made a mental note for later that the kid was way too good at covering up pain.  
  
“You saved me. I can’t thank you enough.” Tony sincerely gazed at Peter and then gave him a quick hug, “but seriously, don’t you ever do that again.”   
  
Everyone else gave them space.  
  
They meant to talk more, but, from how exhausting the ordeal had been, both wound up cuddling and asleep in the bed.  
  
——————  
  
Clint snickered into his coffee mug as he glanced up at the billionaire for the hundredth time that morning.   
  
“What did I say? Stop watching me! I’m figuring it out.” Tony once again attempted to remove the doorknob that was stuck to his hand, but only succeeded in transferring to his other hand, flinging across the room, denting the wall, and getting some silverware stuck to his other hand.  
  
Even Natasha started smirking at that. “At least Cho said the venom wasn’t taking to your body. It’ll only be like this for a week.”   
  
But as he looked up and made eye contact with Clint, who had a mischievous glint in his eye, Tony knew it was going to be a long week.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
.


	15. Skip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SnowMione18
> 
> For your avengers Family one shots, I was wondering if you could write one about the avengers finding out about skip Westcott. I don’t know if you know who that is. But if you do, could you write one like that.

Peter was over the moon ecstatic when Tony had swung by his house after school. He could do without the flirty teasing with aunt May, but ultimately he was glad that she had given permission for Tony to take her nephew out for the day.  
  
Honestly, Peter was overjoyed pretty much anytime he got to hang out with one of the Avengers or spend time at the Tower. Tony had urged him to make himself at home and swing by whenever - he even had his own room set up - but it still felt like a special occasion every time.   
  
Today, Tony invited him to watch the test flight of one of his new drones. He even told Peter he could offer advice for modifications, which floored him. He was practically buzzing in the car ride to the nearby park with the large field. Peter couldn’t stop asking questions about the wiring and the weight.  
  
And it only made it better that they were designed as an efficient way to deliver vital goods to rural areas. Reporters talked a lot of shit about Tony Stark, but as far as Peter had seen, the man lived up to the idealized version in his head in every way.   
  
“Want to piece together the launchpad? I’m thinking that flat patch with minimal grass to your left would be a good spot.”  
  
“Yes sir!” Peter saluted him and then sprinted to the area with an armful of tools and metal pieces. He quickly assembled the launchpad and excitedly awaited take-off.   
  
As expected from Stark technology, the initial flight was smooth and the design was practically flawless. As expected from Tony Stark and Peter Parker, the second flight was full of loops and close calls and attempts to land it on objects that were not the landing pad.  
  
“There’s even a livestream camera feature so you can see what you’re doing since the waves that control it can go super long distances!” Tony pointed out the maneuverable camera at the base of the equipment and proceeded to call Bruce.   
  
The feed from Bruce went to Tony’s phone, and the feed from the drone was being shown via JARVIS wherever Bruce was.  
  
As it happened, most of the team had been in the tower in the gym. Peter could see Steve and Natasha sparring in the background, Clint tuning his bow, and Bruce watching from the sidelines.   
  
“Hey Brucie - look at the glide on this thing!” Tony let the drone fly over their heads so he and Peter could look up and wave.  
  
The rest of the team gathered around to look at Stark’s newest invention and listen to, the parts they could understand, or Bruce, Tony, and Peter’s conversation.  
  
Then, Peter suddenly froze. “Did you hear that?”   
  
“Hear what?” Tony stared suspiciously at the drone. “Did something come loose when we got it in that tree? It should be more durable than that.”   
  
“No.” At inhuman speeds, Peter took off his hoodie and pants to reveal the spider suit. He also pulled a mask from his bag to pull over his head.   
  
“...Does he just wear that to school?” Clint seemed surprised by the outfit change while Natasha shrugged, probably having seen the red and blue under his jeans many, many times before.  
  
“Christ, I need to get the kid a nano tech suit.” Tony mumbled.  
  
“Add me to that list too!” Clint grinned. “JARVIS make a note.”   
  
Tony rolled his eyes, and then brought his attention back to the boy, who was halfway across the field by now.   
  
He debated calling the suit, but decided to walk to not cause even more of a scene. He still wasn’t sure what was going on.   
  
In the distance, Tony saw Spider-Man pull a young child behind him. He could tell that Peter was trying to look menacing, but the kid still had some work to do in that department.   
  
He hung back, sending the drone in an inconspicuous way to see what was going on.   
  
“He said no.” Peter crossed his arms in front of him. “You can’t force a child to get undressed. He’s uncomfortable and it’s his body.”  
  
“Chill out. He spilled some juice. I just didn’t want him to get sticky.” The child’s babysitter responded.   
  
“Then why isn’t he wet?”   
  
The sitter balked at that and took a few steps back.  
  
“What is his parents’ address? I’ll take him home.”  
  
After getting the information and shooing the offender away, Peter knelt near the young child.   
  
“What’s your name?”   
  
“Luis.”  
  
“Hi Luis. I’m Spiderman.” Peter extended a hand to shake. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”  
  
The boy seemed ashamed, but after some convincing that Spiderman was a good guy and that he hadn’t done anything wrong, he vaguely explained how the babysitter liked him to not wear clothes and how he would be touched in ways he didn’t like.   
  
Peter patiently nodded and listened to the kid, even though it took a while for him to spill the information.   
  
At the end, Luis started to get embarrassed, and clearly wasn’t acknowledging that he was the victim. He thought he had been bad or caused it in some way.   
  
“Can I tell you something Luis?” Peter earnestly asked and waited for Luis to nod. “When I was about your age. I met this kid in the library. His name was Skip. I felt so cool hanging out with him. He called me ‘Einstein’ and praised me for being smart which none of the other kids in my class did.”  
  
Peter took a deep breath.  
  
“Even my aunt liked him because I didn’t have many other friends. But one day, Skip asked me to touch him somewhere private - somewhere I didn’t want to touch him. And I was too afraid to say no.   
  
But that night, I told my aunt, and I never had to see him again. It’s never your fault. And it’s always good to tell someone you trust about what is happening, okay?”  
  
Luis nodded and looked up at Peter with red, wet eyes that made his heart melt.   
  
“Have you heard of Iron Man?”  
  
The kid perked up immediately and excitedly said yes.  
  
“Well, I’m going to go get him, and we’re going to give you a ride to your house, okay? I’ll talk to your parents when we get there.” Peter extended a hand for Luis to hold, and they walked hand in hand over to Tony, who met them part way.   
  
Luis helped them pack up the drone stuff, and stayed close to Peter the entire time. He gave Tony a high five but immediately blushed and got shy.   
  
Tony tried not to stare at Peter as he loaded up the last of the things, but he couldn’t help it. Thinking about Peter suffering as a child was awful.   
  
He knew what a bad childhood was. He had felt exploited and unloved many times when he was younger. But to think of sweet, innocent Peter losing his parents, then his uncle, being forced to take on superhero duties alone, and facing molestation - it was enough to make his head feel heavy.   
  
They explained the situation to Luis’ parents, who came by ten minutes after they brought Luis to their address, and it quickly shocked them out of being awestruck that the Tony Stark was returning their child. There was a lot of crying and hugging and promising that Luis would never have that babysitter ever again. They discussed legal courses of action with Toby, who happily shared his knowledge on that topic.   
  
He might even do a little extra to make her absolutely un-hireable. Now to find out who ‘Skip’ was.   
  
When they made it to the tower, the team, who were not nearly as slick as they thought they were, very conspicuously halted all conversation.   
  
“You heard the whole thing, didn’t you?” Peter chewed on his lip and tried to remain collected with all the eyes on him.   
  
Steve, never one to lie, spoke up and confirmed it.   
  
“Peter.” Bruce called his name softly and sadly. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”   
  
Clint stood up and wrapped the kid in a hug.   
  
The room was silent for a while - each member related to being an outcast and to some form of childhood abuse or trauma, and knowing what had happened to Peter was heavy in their souls.  
  
“I’m fine now.” Peter insisted. He grabbed the TV remote and flopped onto the couch, starting a movie. “Anyone want to join me?”   
  
—————  
Peter didn’t want to draw attention or attract sympathy for what they’d learned about him, but that didn’t stop the Avengers from helping in their own ways.  
  
“What are you doing?” Clint let himself into Natasha’s room without knocking as usual.   
  
“Nothing.” She replied vaguely, but made no move to cover up the “Steven Westcott” that was written across the top of the page. Apparently, he was in jail for possession of child porn. She was going to call in a couple of favors to make sure he stayed there for good. “You think his mugshot would print nicely on a dartboard? Or an axe throwing target?”  
  
Clint rose an eyebrow in slight amusement, but couldn’t really say anything considering the fact that he had spent the last eight hours doing deep research into every adult at Peter’s school and who lived in the same area. There were a lot of people in Queens. “Did you hear that Tony started a new charity?”   
  
“Of course, the one that funds in depth training to see the signs of grooming or child abuse, right?” she glanced away from the screen and back at Clint.  
  
“Yeah, it also pays for survivors’ therapy and budgets for a home and allowance for children whose own parents committed the offense. He’s also coding new security cameras in libraries, schools, parks, and other high-traffic areas for children that recognizes unusual child-adult interaction and tags the feed for volunteers and police officers to comb through.”   
  
And, just maybe, everyone showed a little more love and attention to their favorite spider than usual in the following months.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	16. ZHS (Zoom Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AmandaPanda82 (comment on Zoom) 
> 
> I loved this!! Can you PLEASEEEE make a part 2 in which 1) the students ask where Spider-Man is and it gets crazy or whatever from there? Or 2) one of the Avengers doesn’t realize he’s on a call and mentions something about Peter’s Spider-Man duties in front of the class and then it goes from there? I would love to see what u do with this idea! 😀 sending love 💕

Peter scrolled through social media mindlessly as his computer connected to the Zoom audio for his first class of the day. 

  
He consciously ignored all of the notifications in his messages and every form of social media he’d ever downloaded. It had been insane since yesterday when the whole school learned that he was quarantined with the Avengers in Stark Tower.

Honestly, he was more worried about May finding out what a disruption this all had been than anything else. She valued his education and always told him that if his internship or superhero duties got in the way, he would have to quit them. It wasn’t a very serious threat, at least for the internship. Peter knew that she saw how happy he was to creatively release some of his genius under the guidance of Tony Stark, and that she appreciated all the opportunities it would open for him.

But that and making a scene in two different classes were very different things. At least the team was able to steer it back onto a somewhat educational path with their expertise in certain fields.

The PowerPoint presentation on plant phylogenies filled his screen as he joined his class. The teacher had just started calling on people to make sure that everyone was present.

She split them into breakout rooms to discuss the homework they’d been assigned the previous night. One kid in Peter’s group quickly read the answers, and no one disagreed, or at least no one indicated that they did.

It would usually be silent at this point, the kids just staring at each other, tired and bored, but one of them, someone Peter had maybe spoken with once or twice before, spoke up.

“So are there other heroes in Stark Tower too?”

“Other heroes?” Peter repeated.

“Like Scarlett Witch. Or the one that’s a black cat. There’s also that one guy who got really big in California and the man who could do magic or something.”

“Yeah,” another kid chimed in, “And what about Spiderman? He’s actually in New York AND he works with the Avengers sometimes. Does Tony Stark have him somewhere in there?”

The first guy gasped. “Do you know Spiderman’s secret identity Peter?”

Flash unmuted himself at this point. “Of course Peter doesn’t know Spiderman is. I’ll admit that I was wrong about the internship existing at all, but do you guys really think that Tony Stark would let a high school student know classified information about secret identities and hero secrets and such?” He rolled his eyes. “I’m sure Peter just does data entry and gets his morning coffee or something.”

Peter just bit his lip. He didn’t want to feed the fire, and no matter what he said, he would just stir up more questions or a fight with Flash. It was a lose-lose situation at this point.

“I’ve met Spiderman before!” Flash proudly announced, trying to get some attention. It was clear that Peter’s newfound popularity had been killing him. “We’re friends.”

“Do you know his secret identity then?” Someone asked skeptically.

“Well, I don’t know his identity because he needs to keep it a secret for security reasons. Nobody knows his identity.”

Peter had secretly screen recorded Flash talking about Spiderman and sent it to Ned.

“Lol. Flash always said I was ‘nobody’ so he’s partially true.”

The countdown to join the main session appeared on screen and Peter clicked on it before waiting for the rest of his group to finish their superhero conversation.

“Okay class, so to review - what is the MRCA of the circled taxa according to this tree?”

A couple students raised their hands to answer, but there was a loud noise in the teacher’s house so she excused herself and told them to wait for a minute while she tended to other matters. Then her internet cut out and she was booted off the meeting.

“So you’re actually friends with Spiderman?” The same kid from the breakout room took advantage of the situation to question Flash again.

MJ obviously rolled her eyes, but Flash puffed out his chest to dive back into the limelight.

“Why are we talking about Spiderman?” Someone who wasn’t in the breakout room looked confused at the topic change.

Another one loudly squeaked and then asked if Spiderman had walked by in the background of Peter’s video.

Completely ignoring Peter and Flash’s denials that that happened, the kids became just as rowdy as yesterday. Some had even written down questions to ask Peter about their favorite hero or about what he actually did as an intern for Stark Tower.

Then a light flashed in the room and a bunch of buzzers went off. In addition to each Avenger’s tracker beeping to alert them of an emergency call - JARVIS also had a system in place where lights flashed and noises blared in rooms where Avengers were present. Unluckily for Peter, Clint, Bucky, Steve, and Sam had been in the same room as him, just behind the camera.

“Peter, would you like me to connect to Karen and call your suit?” JARVIS robotically read the lines from his protocol - offering to call his suit over like he did for Tony since their suits used a lot of similar technology.

“No. JARVIS I don’t -“

“False alarm! False alarm!” Tony ran in, out of breath and hair singed. “I was trying to do a reboot of the alarm system so it would send more details about the attack when you were alerted, but it triggered something.”

He looked over at Peter sympathetically. “Sorry kid. Didn’t mean to interrupt like that again, but don’t go into Spidey mode just yet, everything’s fine.” Tony brushed some spot off his face. “I also may have burnt some stuff, but that’s alright too. Everything is under control.”

Bucky winked at Peter from behind the computer and spoke up. “Unless he wanted to skip school for a bit - would’ve been a good excuse.”

Steve shot his friend a disapproving look, but didn’t add anything to the lecture.

One of the students in his class, just barely audible, spoke: “Spidey mode.”

“That’s just a -“ Peter was about to shut down any speculation by calling it an inside joke, but then his mask flew over and coated his face. “What the- Karen, take it off.”

Tony face palmed. “That might’ve also been my fault with the trigger.”

Peter had his whole suit on for two or three seconds before Karen faithfully disassembled.

He quickly muted. “How am I supposed to explain myself now?”

“What do you mean kid?”

“I was unmuted AND had my video on.”

“What? Peter I swear I heard you say you were in the main group. Why would you be unmuted?” Sam called out from his spot in a chair.

“And you didn’t turn off the microphone and the video as soon as the alarm sounded?” Tony asked as if this was a normal thing that happened and Peter had been trained in what to do.

“No. There was adrenaline and I didn’t think about it.”

“Well...” Tony shrugged. “I don’t know. It might just be time to come out with it.”

Peter nervously glanced at the screen. His sound and video were off, and people were frantically trying to get his attention. He would think Flash, with his mouth open and eyes wide, was frozen except for the movement of his curtains in the background.

“Um...”

Honestly, Peter didn’t know how to get out of this one. Currently living in Stark Tower, the suit attaching to him, and being called ‘Spidey’ was all pretty damming evidence that he was Spiderman.

The only alternative was maybe saying that Spiderman was in the building and the suit accidentally attached to Peter instead, but that would just be admitting fault in a Stark design which wouldn’t be good for Tony or superheroes, who regularly used his instruments, in general. Peter couldn’t do that to them.

So, he wracked his genius brain and hatched a plan.

He opened the video and microphone and decided to play dumb like nothing had even happened. No one ever said it was going to be a good plan.

“Parker! Man what the hell just went down?” Someone who didn’t have their video on called out.

Peter just rose his eyebrows in mock surprise and shrugged. “I have no idea.”

Flash seemed conflicted. On the one hand, they’d just been given the hardest evidence ever proving the identity of Spiderman. On the other, that would make Peter Parker, the nerdiest, most-awkward person in school, the superhero that he had publicly adored and bragged about knowing. Which was both incredibly embarrassing for him, and created a cognitive dissonance because he could not imagine Spiderman taking punches when he could easily fight back. Or Peter not using his powers to be cooler and get girls or fame and money.

“You all really think that egghead is Spiderman?” 

“What’s your explanation then Flash?” 

“I don’t know, maybe it was a mistake? Or maybe Peter just has a high tech costume or something?”

“That’s stupid. Tony Stark wouldn’t let him use materials to make a costume that came when he called. And how does that explain him calling Peter ‘Spidey’?”

“You all are missing the most important piece - DID HE SAY THERE WAS AN EMERGENCY?”

“...My mom is working in Manhattan.” One girl’s lip wobbled as she spoke up. “Is the attack near there?”

Suddenly, the kids fixated on that. They rushed to search news sites for any current disasters and openly worried about their loved ones in various areas of New York. There were many red eyes and a couple students were almost at a full-blown panic.

“Hold on. Nothing’s wrong.” Peter tried to speak loudly into his mic and also typed in his chat.

“The kid is right.” Tony confirmed as he stepped into frame. “We were just testing the emergency system.” 

“Does it work?”

“That it does.” Tony winked and flashed a brilliant rehearsed press smile.

“SO PETER IS SPIDERMAN.” Someone yelled enthusiastically. “If the system worked, and that suit was clearly part of the emergency system, then that means it reached the intended target aka Spiderman aka Peter Parker.”

Peter looked up over his laptop screen - hoping for something. But Bucky and Clint just stared back with a ‘What can you do?’ expression. 

“Okay. So I didn’t mean for this to happen, but, yes, I am Spiderman.”

As soon as Peter got that resolved determination glint in his eyes, Tony had speed dialed the press - getting ahead of the situation. 

He also contacted May and his own security detail with next steps. 

The zoom call was eerily silent - not even the teacher spoke.

Then, “That’s my boy!” broke the moment as a huge grin split across Ned’s face. “Kicking ass all over Queens.” 

“You knew?” 

“I’m his best friend. Of course I knew.” 

Tony rose an eyebrow at Peter - he hadn’t known that bit of information.

_I knew it._ MJ typed in the chat. _You were totally suspicious. I can’t believe no one figured it out sooner._

Peter just scoffed. He thought he was pretty good at keeping secrets. 

At least his reveal had been on accident unlike Tony’s. 

“You’re an Avenger? Can I get your autograph when we go back to school?” 

“That’s so cool, how do you have webs? How did you even become Spiderman?”

“Wait, does that mean that Flash was friends with Parker this whole time?”

“Or he was lying about knowing Spiderman?”

Everyone was talking over themselves and it was getting hard to keep track of what was going on. Peter, not having a mean bone in his body, did throw Flash a bone and admit that he had interacted with him while in the suit, but didn’t say anything about being friendly and close or anything like that. 

Peter just shut his laptop and slumped over the table in exhaustion. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Don’t worry kid - we’ll handle it.” Tony pointed at his phone. “Pepper knows how to deal with this kind of crisis. She actually does it often.” 

“Not by choice I’m sure.” Sam side eyed Tony, who ignored the slight.

“Why was everyone so fixated on that Flash kid?” Clint was curious about the conversation, and by the micro change in her expression, so was Natasha.

Peter’s phone buzzed and Ned’s face filled the screen. He picked up and put his friend on speakerphone. 

“Hi Ned, you’re on speaker with all the Avengers.”

There was silence and a bit of a squeal. “...really!?”

“Hey, kid” Tony picked up the phone. “What was up with that Flash kid? Why were people so focused on him meeting Spiderman?”

“Oh, that’s just because he idolized Spiderman all the time. He claimed that they were friends and that he was the best superhero and stuff like that. Which is ironic because he always bullies Peter and-“ Ned audibly clasped a hand over his mouth. 

“He bullies Peter?” Steve questioned. 

“Well, it will probably be ‘bullied’ now. I can’t imagine he’ll keep it up now that he knows Peter could bench press him if he wanted.” 

“It’s not a big deal guys - I swear.” Peter put his hands up, trying to diffuse the tension that had risen in the room. He already had enough to deal with right now, he didn’t want to add several overprotective, over trained, vengeful superhumans to the mix. 

“I’ll be talking to you about this topic again Ted.”

“Ned.”

“Right. Ned. As soon as the current identity reveal is under control, we’re coming back to what Flash did.”

Peter just put his head in his hands. 

—————

“Do you remember, about a year ago, there was a robbery at a convenience store a couple blocks from school? 

The men wore baseball caps and knocked out the security cameras. One of them even pulled a gun and shot the woman behind the desk. 

And then Spiderman webbed them up and applied pressure and basic first aid to her wound. The EMT’s and hospital staff that he called were able to save her, and she made a full recovery. All of the men were taken into police custody and charged then convicted of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

That was my mom at our family store. 

And I can’t thank you enough for what you did. I will forever be grateful that you were there that night, that you decided to help people, and to put yourself at risk for the sake of others.

P.S. Feel free to come by whenever if you ever need anything. It’s on the house of course.”

Peter curled up under the blankets, feeling warm and fuzzy from the inside out. 

For every couple messages with questions about his powers or knowing the Avengers or requests to hang out or get an autograph or see him in action - there was one from someone thanking him for saving them or their family member. 

And that alone made it worthwhile to be a superhero. 

All these stories and reminders of what he fought for were making him emotional, but he couldn’t stop reading them. 

Around three in the morning. He snuck downstairs and printed off copies to keep with him if he ever needed the reminder. 

Because helping people was all he ever wanted to do. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you’re looking for something else, I also have:
> 
> Avengers Family - Platonic oneshots with the Avengers acting as one large family.
> 
> Another Avengers Fanfiction Archive - A collection of unrelated oneshots between the reader and various marvel heroes.
> 
> Another Avengers Fanfiction Archive (Two) - A continuation of Another Avengers Fanfiction Archive. The oneshots are still unrelated so reading the first one before is not necessary.
> 
> Avenger Ships - Oneshots involving ships between established Marvel characters. Mostly Stony, Stucky, and Starker.
> 
> Avenger Ships Two - A continuation of Avenger Ships. The one shots are unrelated so you don’t need to read in any particular order.
> 
> They’re all open for requests!


End file.
